Launching the Process of Drawing up the National Action Plan in Democracy and Human Rights in Morocco

In order to uphold the process of democracy-building and rule of law, and in order to consolidate the gains in democracy and the effective integration of the human rights principles through putting in place a public policy in the field, the Centre for Documentation, Information and Training in Human Rights (CDIFDH), a body attached to the Advisory Council on Human Rights (CCDH), organized, on April 25-26, 2008, a symposium on launching the process of drawing up the National Action Plan in Democracy and Human Rights in Morocco (PANDDH).

The PANDDH, a first experience of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, is the first national action plan incorporating both the dimension of democracy and that of human rights. For Morocco, it is expected to meet the need to acquire a coherent framework to monitor and coordinate all activities intended for the dissemination, promotion, protection and reinforcement of human rights.

The PANDDH has been adopted following the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna (1993), recommending that each State consider the desirability of drawing up a national action plan identifying steps whereby that State would improve the promotion and protection of human rights. The implementation of this recommendation has so far resulted in 23 countries adopting a national action plan in the field of human rights.

The process of drawing up the PANDDH is a participatory process, which will allow for a strong participation by the government, national institutions, research institutions, and various components of civil society, as well as experts in human rights. It is a process of dialogue and consultation between these actors, which aims to implement a national strategy that places the promotion and protection of human rights at the heart of public policies. The objectives of the PANDDH are :

To accommodate the government, organizations and members of civil society in their efforts intended to respect, promote and protect human rights and enhance cooperation;

To strengthen national institutions working in the field of human rights;

To continue ratifying international conventions, to implement the State’s international obligations concerning human rights and to promote compliance of national legislation with international standards;

To popularise the standards and mechanisms of human rights, particularly in the bodies in charge of law enforcement and social workers;

To develop specific programs aiming at improving the situation of vulnerable groups within the country;

To put emphasis on the role of human rights in national development.

The process of drawing up the PANDDH takes advantage of a support programme, which is the subject of a partnership convention between the Advisory Council on Human Rights (CCDH) and the European Union (EU). This program is managed by the CDIFDH in its capacity as coordinator of the project management unit.

The three-year Support Program will be conducted in two phases: a preparatory phase for identifying, establishing and reinforcing the main institutional mechanisms and organisms responsible for drawing up the PANDDH, and a second phase for accommodating and following up the implementation of the Plan.

The activity of launching the process was a first step to highlight the involvement of the parties in the project, to discuss the methodology of work, and to identify themes, the needs for capacity building as well as tools and methods of information and communication.

The two-day symposium ssaw the participation of various departments concerned with the issue of human rights, namely, government departments, bodies responsible for law enforcement, economic players, parliamentary committees and groups, NGOs, academia and research institutions, diplomatic missions and the media.

The launching ceremony of PANDDH was attended by the Prime Minister, the CCDH President and Mr Ambassador of the EU.