UN human rights commissioner hails Morocco's human rights achievements

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, hailed on Thursday the achievements and the progress made by Morocco in matters of human rights protection.

At a meeting with visiting Moroccan Human Rights Advisory Council delegation (CCDH), led by chairman Driss Dahak, Robinson also thanked Morocco for agreeing to host the fifth international meeting of national human rights institutions in year 2000.

The UN official paid tribute to King Hassan II for his sustained backing of the promotion of human rights culture and praised the various moves made by the sovereign for the consolidation of the rule of law.

The Moroccan human rights delegation arrived early this week in Geneva to take part in the 55th session of the UN human rights commission. The CCDH chief, who addressed the session, surveyed the actions made by the council since its creation in 1990 to ensure the respect of human rights principles in Morocco and recalled the free-pardon granted lately by King Hassan II to all prisoners convicted of offenses to state security.

The royal pardon, Dahak said, was granted on a proposal of the CCDH, which is a national body seeking to promote human rights in Morocco.

On the fringes of their participation in the UN human rights commission's works, the Moroccan CCDH delegation will hold a series of meetings with representatives and officials of other human rights protection institutions.

The CCDH is a national institution in charge of protecting and promoting human rights and consolidating a human rights culture in Morocco.

The council, which is independent from the legislative, executive and judiciary powers, issues consultative opinions that are submitted to the king.