Rabat- The announcement of military justice reforms that exclude civilians from military courts is “a decisive turning point” in consolidating human rights, said chairman of the Moroccan national human rights council (CNDH), Driss El Yazami.
El Yazami, who was the guest of MAP’s forum, said the government’s decision to interact swiftly with the CNDH recommendations is an important step in consolidating the rule of law in Morocco.
He also announced that Morocco will shortly ratify the optional protocol on the convention against torture and other cruel, degrading and inhumane treatments, stressing that this step requires from the government to establish a mechanism for the protection against torture.
El Yazami added that such a mechanism, to be given access to detention facilities, has proven very efficient in other countries in considerably reducing torture and cruel treatment cases, explaining that it was the CNDH recommendation to ratify this protocol, part of adapting Moroccan legislation to the Convention and to international human rights conventions.
The protocol has been ratified by 45 countries, including 34 who established this type of mechanism.
The CNDH chairman further pointed out that Morocco willingly embarked on the human rights protection process and has received all the United Nations rapporteurs who requested to visit the Kingdom (torture, human trafficking, forced disappearance, cultural rights, gender discrimination, and arbitrary detentions) and given them access to Moroccan southern provinces.
On other human rights adopted by the Kingdom, he said the health ministry is formulating a draft law on mental health, in light of the pertinent report submitted by the CNDH, adding that the Moroccan government has also overhauled the immigration and asylum law based on recommendations made by the Council.
