National Preventive Mechanisms against torture: challenges and good practices (International seminar)

The National Human Rights Council (CNDH) organizes, in cooperation with the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), on May 12^th, 2015 in Rabat, an international seminar on “national preventive mechanisms against torture: challenges and good practices”. This gathering will be an opportunity to share country experiences and discuss best practices for the prevention of torture.

This seminar aims to “define the framework, organization and adequate resources to enable the future NPM in Morocco to effectively prevent torture and ill-treatment”. It will allow stakeholders in Morocco to “further reflect on the functioning of the future NPM in the light of other experiences and best practices and existing MNPs”, organizers said. 

The seminar will bring together key national stakeholders (government, CNDH, civil society, parliamentarians, national institutions, judges, journalists, etc.) and international experts, including representatives of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), Council of Europe, APT, the Danish Institute against Torture (Dignity), the Contrôleur général des lieux de privation de liberté (general inspector of all places of deprivation of liberty)-France, and two national human rights institutions designated as MNP in their respective countries (Mali and Maldives).

Morocco ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CAT) on June 21^st, 1993. On November 1^st, 2012, the Kingdom started the ratification process of its Optional Protocol (OPCAT) and deposited its ratification instruments on the 24^th of November 2014, thus becoming the 76th State Party to the OPCAT.

Under Article 17 of the Optional Protocol, “each State Party shall maintain, designate or establish, at the latest one year after the entry into force of the present Protocol or of its ratification or accession, one or several independent national preventive mechanisms for the prevention of torture at the domestic level. Mechanisms established by decentralized units may be designated as national preventive mechanisms for the purposes of the present Protocol if they are in conformity with its provisions.”

The opening session of the seminar will be held on Tuesday, May 12, 2015, at 9:00 a.m (Tour Hassan Hotel). The floor will be given to Driss El Yazami, CNDH Chairman, Mahjoub El Hiba, Ministerial Delegate for Human Rights, Mohammed Aujjar, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and Esther Schaufelberger, APT Program Officer for MENA, for their opening statements.