Morocco’s human rights record to be reviewed by Universal Periodic Review

GENEVA (27 April 2017) – Morocco’s human rights record will be examined by the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group for the third time on Tuesday, 2 May 2017 in a meeting that will be webcast live.

Morocco is one of the 14 States to be reviewed by the UPR Working Group during its upcoming session taking place from 1 to 12 May, which also marks the commencement of the third UPR cycle.  Morocco’s first and second UPR reviews took place in April 2008 and May 2012, respectively.

The documents on which the reviews are based are: 1) national report - information provided by the State under review; 2) information contained in the reports of independent human rights experts and groups, known as the Special Procedures, human rights treaty bodies, and other UN entities; 3) information provided by other stakeholders including national human rights institutions, regional organizations and civil society groups.

Among the issues raised in the above-mentioned documents are: the efficiency of investigations into enforced disappearances; excessive duration of police custody and excessive use of force by law enforcement agents; improving prison conditions and alleviating prison overcrowding; the abolition of the death penalty; implementing procedural safeguards for the prevention of torture; addressing the discrimination of Amazigh people; the issue of the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara; guaranteeing the freedom of assembly, association, religion and speech; warranting legal safeguards in countering terrorism; combatting gender stereotypes and violence against women; curbing corporal punishment and the imprisonment of juveniles; the decriminalization of homosexuality; and guaranteeing equal access to health services, adequate housing, employment and education, particularly in rural areas.

The three reports serving as the basis for the review of Morocco on 2 May can be found here: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/MASession27.aspx

Location: Room 20, Palais des Nations, Geneva
Time and date: 14.30 – 18.00, Tuesday, 2 May (Geneva time, GMT +1 hour)

The UPR is a unique process which involves a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States.  Since its first meeting was held in April 2008, all 193 UN member States have been reviewed twice within the first and second UPR cycles.  During the third UPR cycle, States are again expected to spell out steps they have taken to implement recommendations posed during their previous reviews which they committed to follow-up on, as well as to highlight recent human rights developments in the country.

The delegation of Morocco will be headed by Mr. Mostafa Ramid, Minister of State in charge of Human Rights.

The three country representatives serving as rapporteurs (“troika”) for the review of Morocco are: United Arab Emirates, Panama and Congo.

The webcast of the session will be at http://webtv.un.org

The list of speakers and all available statements to be delivered during the review of Morocco will be posted on the UPR Extranet at the following link: https://extranet.ohchr.org/sites/upr/Sessions/27session/Morocco/Pages/default.aspx  

The UPR Working Group is scheduled to adopt the recommendations made to Morocco at 16.30 on 5 May.  The State under review may wish to express its positions on recommendations posed to it during their review.  The recommendations will be shared with the media on this day in advance.    

ENDS

To learn more about the Universal Periodic Review, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/upr-main

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