Rabat – Head of the Government Saad Eddine El Othmani said that he is aware of “shortcomings in the area of human rights in Morocco, despite the efforts made to improve it,” during a meeting of the government council held on Thursday, September 28.
El Othmani made the admission during a government council meeting on September 28, speaking on the United Nations’ recent Universal Periodic Review recommendations for Morocco and the response by Minister of Human Rights Mustafa Ramid.
The government head explained that while human rights in Morocco suffers from backslides, “the issue is of the interest to everyone, whether in the government sector,constitutional institutions or civil society and the press.”
The head of the government noted the efforts of human rights bodies, expressing his unhappiness with any criticism because “every report in which an assessment or criticism is positive for our country.”
El Othmani stressed the need for increased national efforts to strengthen the human rights system in Morocco, urging all actors to cooperate to address the outstanding issues.
While many states lauded Morocco’s commitment to human rights, commending the kingdom’s decision to accept the majority of UNRHC’s recommendation, for many NGOs, Morocco still has a long way to go.
Ramid’s presentation, in which he stated that “Morocco appreciated the interest given to all institutional reforms during the review, which it had pursued by amending the constitution,” was applauded by countries including Afghanistan, China, Azerbaijan, and Egypt.
“Morocco fully supported 191 out of 244 recommendations, 78 percent of the total number of recommendations, including 23 recommendations that were fully implemented; 44 recommendations were taken into consideration, and 9 recommendations were not accepted as they did not fall within the mandate of the Human Rights Council,” said Ramid.
