Editorial

CCDH annual report 2009 on the situation of human rights in Morocco and the outcome of the Council is the focal point of the 20th issue of CCDH Newsletter.

In addition to the outcome of the Council in the fields of human rights promotion and protection, treatment of complaints and adherence to the international human rights system, 2009 report sheds lights on the treaty practice of the Kingdom.

In this context, the Council ratified during its last ordinary session, held in December 2010, a memorandum on the reinforcement of the treaty practice in Morocco. This memorandum encourages the Kingdom to adhere to the international human rights conventions and optional protocols that it has not yet ratified.

This issue sheds light on the new dynamism launched by the Council, the Ministry of National Education and the International Center for Transitional Justice: starting a reflection process on the best possibilities to ensure reaction between the Moroccan school and the Moroccan experience in the field of transitional justice. The objective is to include the concepts of transitional justice in the education system. In this regard, a meeting gathering officers from the Council and the Ministry and international experts was held to deepen reflection on the subject.

Mr. Ahmed Taoufik Zainabi, Head of the Collective Rights and Regional Affairs Department, stated during that meeting that “transitional justice needs school to popularize its concepts and pass the learned lessons to the future generations to ensure the non-repetition of the grave human rights violations. School, on the other hand, needs to include the experience of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission to diverse its programs and develop curricula that support historical analysis and literature creation linked to the subjects of the transitional justice,

The 20th issue sheds light, also, on a recommendation on human trafficking, which has recently been ratified by the Council. Before submitting this recommendation, the Council held several meetings with governmental, institutional, political and civil society stakeholders concerned, considered relevant international experiences and conducted a study on the phenomenon.

At the regional level, the Advisory Council on Human Rights opened, by the end of 2010, a regional office in the city of El Hoceima. Seven of the kind, after the offices of Laayoune, Oujda, Agadir, Midelt, Ouarzazate and Beni Mellal, the opening of the office confirms the strong will of the Council to support regionalization and decentralization in addition to its work at the regional level: facilitate access to its services and promote democracy and human rights principles and culture.

Concerning the presence of the Council at the international level, this issue highlights the visit made by CCDH President, Ahmed Herzenni, to London from 12 to 14 December 2010. During this visit, Mr. Herzenni participated in a round table on the Moroccan efforts to promote and reinforce human rights. He met with senior officials from the British Foreign Office and Amnesty International.