Rabat — As the global community prepares to mark World Day Against the Death Penalty later this week, a coalition of Moroccan human rights groups and activists have renewed their call for the country to abolish capital punishment.
The National Human Rights Council (CNDH), the Moroccan Coalition for the Abolition of the Death Penalty (CMCPM), and the Moroccan Observatory of Prisons (OMP) announced today that it will be hosting on October 10 a press conference to draw attention to the ongoing challenges associated with the death penalty and reiterate their demand for its complete elimination.
The event, which will take place at CNDH headquarters in Rabat, comes at a pivotal moment for Morocco’s stance on capital punishment.
Morocco, where capital punishment remains legal but has not been carried out since 1993, is on the cusp of ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aimed at abolishing the death penalty.
The Moroccan Parliament is expected to approve a draft Penal Code that would effectively eliminate the death penalty from the country’s legal system.
This year’s conference, organized in partnership with national abolitionist networks and “Ensemble contre la peine de mort” (Together Against the Death Penalty), comes at this pivotal moment, as Morocco approaches several key milestones.
It has been 20 years since the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER) published its final report, which urged Morocco to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aimed at abolishing the death penalty worldwide.
The United Nations will soon vote on a resolution to establish a universal moratorium on executions, while the Moroccan Parliament is expected to debate a new draft Penal Code, potentially paving the way for significant reform.
As it prepares to celebrate this milestone, the CNDH has called on the Moroccan government to support the upcoming UN resolution as a critical step toward aligning with international human rights standards. The council has also urged lawmakers to ratify the OP2 protocol, in accordance with Morocco’s 2011 Constitution, which enshrines the right to life in Article 20.
Established in 2003 by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, this day serves as a global platform to raise awareness about the inhumanity of the death penalty and to campaign for its abolition.
Supported by organizations like Amnesty International, the European Union, and the United Nations, the event has become a focal point for pushing governments to reconsider their stance on capital punishment.
This year’s theme, “The Death Penalty Protects No One,” highlights its ineffectiveness as a deterrent to crime.
