Morocco re-elected as a member of the UN Human Rights Committee

Morocco will continue to be a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee with Mahjoub El Haiba representing the Kingdom in this body. This decision was taken this week during the elections held on the occasion of the 40th meeting of the States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil Rights. 

According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, the Moroccan candidacy, supported by a large majority with 120 votes in favour, was up against fifteen other candidates for one of the nine vacant seats on the Committee for the period 2025-2028. 

This re-election has been welcomed by the Moroccan media as a further sign of credibility and confidence in the Kingdom on the international scene. The Moroccan news agency MAP highlights the promotion of human rights thanks to the impetus given by King Mohammed VI through the democratic reforms undertaken at the national level, as well as the initiatives developed by Rabat at the multilateral level.  

This new international success is also part of Morocco's strategy of putting its experience in the various fields of multilateral action at the service of UN bodies, acting as a responsible and committed actor in the international community.  

The UN Human Rights Committee is a body of great importance, as it is responsible for examining the reports of States Parties on the implementation of the Covenant, drafting general comments on obligations and examining complaints related to violations of this agreement. 

The body is composed of 18 experts elected by the States Parties on the basis of equitable geographical distribution to monitor the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights signed in 1966.  

Last January, Ambassador Omar Zniber, Morocco's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, was elected President of the Human Rights Council after a secret ballot in which he received 30 votes out of the 47 members of the Council, beating the South African diplomat, Mxolisi Nkosi, who received 17 votes.   

Mahjoub El Haiba, a university professor, has a long career in the field. He has previously served as Secretary General of the Consultative Council for Human Rights (now the National Human Rights Council) and as the first Inter-Ministerial Delegate for Human Rights. Since his first election to the Human Rights Committee, El Haiba has worked to strengthen the working methods of this important UN body.