Marruecos crítica la politización de los derechos humanos en África

The Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, today criticised the politicisation of the human rights situation in African countries by parties that "proclaim themselves as evaluators" of these rights on the continent. Addressing the World Pre-Forum on Human Rights in Rabat, Bourita regretted that these parties, which he did not name, "rely on positions that set aside dialogue and cooperation as pillars of the protection (...) of human rights, to adopt, unfortunately, positions of double standards".  

Morocco has on several occasions criticised reports by international NGOs, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which question the human rights situation on its territory, and recently rejected a European Parliament resolution calling for the release of Moroccan journalists.  

Bourita said in his speech today that there is no external guardianship over human rights, nor is there ex officio legitimisation of foreign assessments. He stressed that "there is no serious alternative to the progressive, individual and collective appropriation of the universality of these rights". He added that the international commitment of African countries to human rights "cannot be held hostage to the logic of political confrontation", which further weakens universal solidarity in the defence of these rights.  

However, the Moroccan minister called for a new international human rights diplomacy based on dialogue and cooperation. He also defended the need for a new Vienna Convention on Human Rights to evaluate, modernise and deepen the international system that protects these rights so that it is more balanced, and so that African countries have a contribution to make to this system. 

The World Pre-Forum on Human Rights, which opened today in Rabat and will last two days, is the preparatory stage for the 3rd World Forum on Human Rights which will take place next month in the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires.