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Rabat – Morocco abstained from voting for the international abolition of the death penalty earlier this month, when a resolution on the matter was presented to the United Nations’ Third Committee, which specializes in human rights issues.
Morocco’s representative clarified that the country has maintained a de facto moratorium on the death penalty since 1993, when the last government sanctioned execution occurred.
The final vote count on the amended draft resolution against the lethal punishment stood at 115 votes in favor to 38 against, with 30 countries other than Morocco abstaining, according to the committee’s press release.criticized the country’s position in a statement, expressing regret regarding the kingdom’s persistent abstentions from votes in the international arena relating to the human rights implications of the practice since 2007.
The organization argues that the North African country’s position is incompatible with Articles 20 and 21 of the constitution, which guarantee the right to life to all human beings and the right to “the security of their person and of their kin.”
CMCPM is composed of eleven national human rights organizations – including Amnesty Morocco, the Moroccan Human Rights Association and others – that formed a union in 2003 at the conclusion of the International Death Penalty Seminar in Casablanca.
“Convinced that capital punishment is not a deterrent, CMCPM believes that this punishment is simply murdering in the name of the law, referring to the culture of revenge and retribution, particularly since the International Criminal Court –which tries criminals of war and genocide – does not implement the death penalty,” the union’s official website states.
