Mohammed VI praises transitional justice in Morocco
At an international conference on transitional justice held recently in Rabat, the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, said that the transitional justice system in the Kingdom, which symbolises a qualitative shift in the country's political process, ‘has all the characteristics of a unique and pioneering experiment that has paved the way for a smooth and consensual democratic transition and has allowed the adoption of best practices to move towards the realisation of the rule of law and institutions’.
According to MAP, the monarch stressed that, thanks to this experience, which has been widely and internationally acclaimed, Morocco has played ‘a pioneering role in introducing the concept of transitional justice in its Arab and African environment, and in relaying it in a resonant manner in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa’.
Likewise, according to Mohammed VI, the Moroccan model has contributed significantly to the development of the concept and experiences of transitional justice, pushing forward new horizons at the regional, continental and international levels.
In his message, read by the President of the National Council for Human Rights, Amina Bouayach, the King recalled that the transitional justice model adopted by the Kingdom has been solidly established around a set of considerations, some of which are historical insofar as they are based on the specificity of the Moroccan personality, while others are geographical and territorial.
The main objective of this model has been ‘to focus on all victims, of all origins and all tendencies, and to examine all human rights violations perpetrated from the first years of independence to the date of the creation of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission’, he explained.
This measure has made it possible to identify and analyse every type of violation that Morocco has experienced in the past, regardless of its nature and extent. In this respect, Mohammed VI recalled that investigations and field surveys have been carried out for this purpose and public hearings have been organised, in towns and villages, with the aim of collecting the testimonies necessary to establish the truth and repair individual and collective damage.
‘The ultimate aim of this work was to reconcile the Moroccan people with their past’, added the monarch in his message.
Mohammed VI considers that the most distinctive feature of the Moroccan experience was the involvement of all the sensibilities of civil society in the transitional justice process, from its conception to its conclusion.
‘Thanks to the decision to launch transitional justice, the public space has been opened up to social debate on the various reforms and fundamental issues that concern national public opinion,’ he said, stressing that, thanks to the many ongoing initiatives to promote transitional justice, a collective awareness of the fight against human rights violations has crystallised.
‘Lessons have been learned from this experience and the need to further consolidate the rule of law has been reaffirmed, so that rights and freedoms are respected and protected, provided that their exercise, with responsibility and in the spirit of committed citizenship, is balanced with the fulfilment of obligations,’ he added.
Mohammed VI highlights the importance of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER)
Mohammed VI also stressed the importance of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER), which he described as ‘an essential pillar of the construction of democracy and the transition that has contributed, in particular, to the consolidation of the rule of law and institutions and the protection of freedoms in Morocco’.
The IER officially began its work in January 2004 and spent 23 months investigating cases of enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention. During its mandate, the Commission resolved a total of 742 cases of enforced disappearance and awarded material compensation to 9,779 victims. It also held seven public hearings, broadcast live on television over six days, with the aim of establishing the historical truth.
The decision to create this body ‘was at the heart of a voluntarist approach to the management of public affairs, inspired by a new conception of authority and privileging the principle of correlation between the responsibility and accountability of institutions’. Its objective, as the monarch recalled, is ‘the preservation of the dignity of all Moroccans’.
The committee presented its final report to the king in November 2005, recommending the implementation of collective reparations programmes in 11 regions of the country. The report also included key policy recommendations, underlining the urgency of strengthening constitutional protection of human rights, as well as ensuring stronger judicial and legal protection.
In this regard, Mohammed VI assured that, thanks to the IER's recommendations, a regulatory framework has been put in place to structure broad societal reforms, including constitutional and legislative reforms.
In addition, consultative bodies and institutional mechanisms have been set up to break with past violations, to enshrine a mode of public governance based on the rules of the rule of law and to highlight the constantly evolving dynamics of society. ‘In this perspective, laws and public policies will reflect the broader understanding of human rights, which encompasses political, environmental, economic, social and cultural aspects,’ he said.
For her part, the president of the National Human Rights Council, Amina Bouayach, considered that the Equity and Reconciliation Commission represents ‘one of the most significant turning points in our recent history, being a unique and pioneering experience in its contexts, approaches, components and implications’.
The King also highlighted the creation of institutions and constitutional mechanisms necessary for the protection of human rights in their multiple dimensions so that ‘spatial justice finds a concrete expression in development policies, and the notion of reparation for collective damages is integrated into our development plans’.
These efforts have enabled several Moroccan regions with a significant development deficit to remedy their situation, and some of them have even become models of spatial development.
Rachid Lazraq, Professor of Political Science and Constitutional Law, believes that the importance of the IER for King Mohammed VI reflects ‘a real desire to address the negative aspects of the past and open up to a fairer and more tolerant society’. It also reflects a desire to protect human rights and consolidate the values of national reconciliation, he told Al-Arab.
‘The world, through the voice of impartial observers, is witnessing the fruits of the development model underway in our Southern Provinces, which is fully in line with the ideal of solidarity, complementarity and spatial justice that prevails between the different regions of the Kingdom,’ concluded the king, who also stressed that “the face of the reconquered provinces has improved and they have become an attractive area for investment, abounding in development projects, major facilities and large equipment”.