MOROCCO: HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT RECOMMENDS ABOLISHING DEATH PENALTY

April 21, 2020:

The 2019 report of Morocco’s National Human Rights Council (CNDH) has recommended that the government abolishes the death penalty and carries out impartial and urgent investigations regarding the death cases in “zones deprived from freedom.”
It called for mechanisms that ensure those who have committed torture are held accountable.
The report also urged the enactment of a new regulation stipulating that no torture crime is ever obsolete.
As for the right to protest, CNDH recommended that authorizing protests should be available via email to activate the digital administrative services concept.
Concerning freedom of the press, it advised that media sources not be questioned except in certain cases, also calling for the adoption of policies to guarantee transparent access to information.
The 82-page report has seven chapters: Protection of human rights, promotion of human rights, parliament relations, media and human rights, cooperation and international relations, follow-up on implementation of Equity & Reconciliation Commission's RECs, and national mechanisms.
It provided up to 30 recommendations mainly directed to public authorities. Among them, there is an advice to join the remaining international human rights pacts.
It also urged reinforcing efforts and intensifying initiatives that guarantee citizens are enjoying their economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights.
CNDH President Amina Bouayach stated that expanding the scope of freedoms has always been a demand for citizens and is the biggest challenge in the face of “our emerging democracies.”
She noted that a key goal of the report is to present authentic information for the reader and then evaluate the progress achieved by the country in human rights.
The president concluded that the council won’t miss any opportunity to stress that there are no exceptions to legitimacy, equality and preventing discrimination in Morocco.