CNDH SG MEETS WITH MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF UNEMPLOYED GRADUATES IN MOROCCO

Secretary General of the National Human Rights Council Mr. Mohammed Essabbar, met on Wednesday 20 April 2011 at the Council's headquarters in Rabat, some members of the National Association of Unemployed Graduates in Morocco.

Members of executive board of the association and some CNDH officers attended this meeting, which was held upon request of the association.

This meeting revolved around the demands of the association, namely:

- Legal recognition of the association;

- Immediate integration in the public service;

- Release of political prisoners of the association;

- Revealing the truth concerning the case of "Hamzaoui”;

Speaking in this meeting, Mr. Essabbar indicated that the Council, within the framework of its responsibilities regarding the protection and promotion of human rights, including social, economic and cultural rights, seeks to ensure access to employment for everybody, as a human right, and highlighted the need to respect human dignity.

He stated that the Council respects the right to association and expression within the framework of internationally recognized democratic standards.

In the field of employment, Mr. Essabbar said, the Council intends to establish an integrated vision to implement the right to work and find a solution to the phenomenon of unemployment. He shed light on the necessity to involve all concerned stakeholders, including associations of unemployed people, and to make use of international experiences in this field, in order to establish a roadmap that includes a set of procedures for the promotion of the right to work in Morocco.

Mr. Essabbar indicated that the Council, as a national institution that plays, inter alia, the role of mediator will spare no effort to support the legal demands of the association, within the limits of its mandate.

The Secretary General of the National Human Rights Council promised to make all possible efforts to support the demands of the association. He asked the association to provide the Council with the documents that justify that association went through the legal procedure related to the creation of associations, in addition to the list of its prisoners. Concerning the case of Mr. Hamzaoui, Mr. Essabbar explained that only his family is officially entitled to demand revealing his fate. However, he promised that he will inform the association of the developments in this case.

For their part, the members of the association expressed their appreciation to the National Human Rights Council for meeting with them and listen to their demands. They reaffirmed that the association has been demanding legal recognition for 2 decades now. We should not be excluded, they concluded.

The association called for the support of the Council in order to have a dialogue with the government parties concerned.