Literature – « Parliament and Human Rights: Benchmarks and Practices », a new book by Abderrazzak El Hannouchi

The National Library has been enriched by the publication of a new book titled «Parliament and Human Rights: Benchmarks and Practices» by its author Abderrazzak El Hannouchi.

Through this book, the author reviews and covers up the work of the two chambers of parliament, during the tenth legislature, in connection with the human rights issue, reviewing some unforeseen facts, such as the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on parliamentary experience and the legislative institution’s action on the abolition of capital punishment, as it represents a gross violation of human rights, and its follow-up of the treaty practice in Morocco.

+ A review and analysis of the various parliamentary initiatives in the field of human rights +

The book contains 285 pages of medium format and consists of several components, namely archiving, description and analysis of benchmarks and literature inherent in the international human rights system.

On the other hand, the book aims at disseminating reference documents on the theme of parliament and human rights, with a view to making them accessible to the public and to publicizing best practices in this field, with reference to the publications of the International Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (PAUFM) and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

As an analytical study of the human rights record of the two chambers of parliament in the previous legislature 2016-2021, this book focuses on listing and classifying the questions raised in parliament on human rights issues, which covers up a total of 22,436 questions. Meanwhile, it sheds light on the legislative texts related to human rights that the parliament ratified so far, including international conventions. In addition, the book provides a review and analysis of the various parliamentary initiatives in the field of human rights.

Besides the best practices, which are presented here on a purely indicative basis and according to the International Parliamentary Union benchmarks, the author presents also some proposals and recommendations for promoting and strengthening the parliamentary action in the field of human rights, while providing relevant reference documents, as supplements, to be consulted easily by the readers when necessary.

+ A book prefaced by Ms. Khadija Marouazi +

The book, which is published by «Al MANAHIL» Printing House in Rabat, does not only publicize the international human rights standards and reviews the progress of the two chambers of parliament in this field, but it also proposes some recommendations to consolidate the parliament’s record in this respect. Hence, there is a strong need to have more similar publications on legislative institution and human rights in a context that requires the contribution of all institutional and non-institutional stakeholders in consolidating the achievements identified by the Constitution in terms of rights and freedoms, as Ms. Khadija MAROUAZI, a professor and researcher in Ibn Toufail University, highlighted in the Preface of this book.

According to the human rights activist, Ms. MAROUAZI, though this new book focuses on the work of the two chambers of parliament in the field of human rights, especially during the tenth legislature; yet its rich content represents an institutional work par excellence for both institutional and non-institutional stakeholders.
Moreover, in his Presentation of the book, Mohamed BOUAZIZ, the former Secretary-General of the Constitutional Council, stressed that the concept of human rights has expanded to other areas that were not previously within his scope, noting that the instruments in place to strengthen the action of Parliament now provide the opportunity for the Representatives of the nation to intervene whenever the need arises. The book also deals with the means and tools of monitoring the action of Parliament as provided for in the Constitution and by the Rules of Procedure of both Chambers.

The former Director of Parliamentary Affairs in the Ministry in Charge of Relations with Parliament, Mr. BOUAZIZ, who commended the significance of this book in highlighting the work of Parliament in the field of human rights, noted that the author capitalized on his professional experience and theoretical knowledge in his previous publications, and, thereby, he provides assistance to both theorists and practitioners in their quest.

Concerning the reasons for the publication of his book, the author states that throughout his career, he has noted a gap in the field of human rights and the lack of bridges between human rights actors and the legislative institution. Mr. Abderrazzak El Hannouchi, who is one of the leading figures in the field of human rights and associative work, dedicates his work to Mr. Driss El-Yazami, former president of the National Human Rights Council, in recognition and acknowledgment of his contribution to the human rights movement both nationally and internationally. Finally, it goes without saying that the wish of the author behind this publication is that Human Rights become a living reality, just as mentioned in the Acknowledgment of this book.

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