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By Anna Schaeffer
Rabat – In Rabat, advocates continue to call for the end of healthcare access discrimination.
A seventh iteration of the “nuit blanche” (white night) for cinema and human rights took place June 30-July 1, espousing the theme “The Right to Health.” Championing the cause for health as a universal and fundamental human right for citizens and immigrants alike, speakers stressed the necessity for social integration in public policy and healthcare reform.
For immigrants, access to care is essential, and advocates heavily reinforced the gravity of obstacles to healthcare and their consequences. Moroccan citizens, too, deserve equitable access to guaranteed quality care. The 2011 constitution clearly outlines “equal access” to healthcare, as well as social protection and medical coverage, as an inclusive and ubiquitous right for Moroccans.
Speakers highlighted the cleft separating promises in the constitution and present-day healthcare: “There is a gap between the abundance of texts and the reality of the health system as it is lived by the citizen.”
This year’s White Night for cinema and human rights, organized by the Association of Mediterranean Encounters on Cinema and Human Rights (ARMCDH), gathered members of the public on the esplanade of the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco for its free outdoor film screening Saturday night. On Sunday, experts and prominent social actors convened for a roundtable discussion.
A variety of health-related topics experienced the spotlight during the weekend, from justiciability of healthcare to awareness and advocacy for individual rights. Article 25 of the International Declaration of Human Rights (IHRD) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights played important roles as foundational texts.
Each White Night emphasizes a critical issue at the heart of public debate. Themes of past years include “The Arab Spring” (2012), “Women’s Rights” (2013), “Justice” (2014), “Migration” (2015), “Children’s Rights” (2016), and “The Right to Education” (2017).
Central to the mission of the White Night for cinema and human rights is the value of public engagement as Morocco moves forward, socially and legislatively, in its relationship with human rights.
