Minister of Justice Ouahbi from Geneva: Morocco is heading towards implementing irreversibly a human rights state

On the margin of the UNHRC 49th session meeting in Geneva, Minister of Justice Mr. Abdellatif Ouahbi has confirmed in a meeting with the Geneva Center for Security Sector Governance that Morocco is heading towards implementing irreversibly a human rights state.

Mr. Abdellatif Ouahbi, Minister of Justice is holding a series of meetings with high-level UN and international officials from the field of human rights, on the margin of the UNHRC 49th session meeting in Geneva held from February 28 through March 4, 2022 in Geneva.
In his statement made during bilateral talks held on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 with the Director of the Geneva Center for Security Sector Governance (DCAF), Ambassador Thomas Guerber and his team, Minister Ouahbi has confirmed that Morocco has made its decision as regards to human rights and it is heading towards implementing irreversibly a human right state.

Minister Ouahbi has highlighted that Morocco is a strong state by respecting human rights and it is pursuing the process of legal reforms initiated under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.

In the same context, Minister Ouahbi has made a broad presentation of the reforms undertaken right now by Morocco; by the Moroccan government and the Ministry of Justice in particular in this sector, pointing out that the Justice Ministry is willingly determined to change a number of regulations including the penal and civil code procedures and the penal law, and integrating deep changes and amendments to reinforce women and child rights and also to reinforce the guarantees for a fair trial and implementing the principles and values of human rights.

The Minister has given an explanation of the most important amendments which have been included in the new penal code procedures and the penal law, all aimed at establishing a fair trial, pointing out that the Moroccan Kingdom’s experience in the field of human rights is important and worth being of interest and followed in the area and in Africa.

Concerning women rights, the Minister has made clear that women in Morocco enjoy an ultimate importance inside his department and are given a great priority to strengthen their rights during the trial; this is by increasing the number of social assistants devoted to help women at courts and also through reinforcing courts’ infrastructures to become appropriate space for receiving women at courts.

The Minister has also talked, during his intervention, about a number of important major projects the Justice Ministry has initiated including the center for the training of judicial professions which is ready and open to receive judiciary professionals in Morocco and will be also open to Arab brothers and sub Saharan countries.

From his side, the Director of the Geneva Center for Security Sector Governance (DCAF), Ambassador Thomas Guerber has expressed his admiration towards the important steps made by Morocco in the field of human rights and other major projects the Ministry of Justice is intending to undertake, confirming the center’s readiness for cooperation and establish partnerships with Morocco at all levels, pointing out that the center has previously struck partnerships with civil society NGOs to reinforce security governance and human rights in Morocco.