Process of Drawing up the Citizen Platform for Promoting the Human Rights Culture

In accordance with to its mission of Contributing, by all available means, to disseminating and upholding the human rights culture, the Advisory Council on Human Rights (CCDH) initiated a dynamic leading to drawing up a strategy document entitled "Citizen Platform for Promoting the Human Rights Culture ". The idea of this project which consists in helping to pool the efforts made by various actors in this regard, was adopted at the CCDH 19th session (July 2003). Its implementation has since gone through several stages.

Consultations and diagnosis

Three main points raised: progress, multiplicity of initiatives and dispersion of efforts

At this first phase, the CCDH conducted a study on the 'assessment of ongoing activities regarding the promotion of the human rights culture”. It was validated in late 2004 at a workshop attended by representatives of government and civil society. Three main points were highlighted:

a. Progress made in the field of formal education on human rights and its limits;

b. Multiplicity of governmental and associational initiatives for the promotion of the human rights culture, since the 90s in particular;

c. Dispersion of efforts and lack of impact-producing synergy.

Preceded by consultations held with key government departments and some civil society activists, the workshop of July 2005, has led to debate about the diagnosis and priorities. Three major areas were highlighted: education, professional training and public awareness-raising.

Establishment of an oversight committee: a triple exercise: discussion, involvement and production

A second workshop was held in April 2006. It strengthened the shared will of all partners to conduct the project and led to the establishment of the Oversight Committee on Drawing up the Platform. The Committee was composed of 7 departments, 3 national and academic institutions and 8 NGOs. It was an independent entity supported politically and logistically by the CCDH and key partners.

After defining the rules of operation and methodology of work, the Committee took part in a triple exercise of intense internal debate, involvement of key actors and production.

To do this, the Committee relied heavily on the determination of its various members, complementarity of their contributions and especially their ability to grasp the challenges of the project in a country which has made progress in human rights, but where major challenges in terms of consolidation and development of gains are to be faced.

Drawing up the Platform: two goals: appropriation of values, coordination of interventions

The process of drawing up the Platform has lasted nearly 20 months. It should respond, overall, to two main goals:

- To encourage the appropriation of human rights values and principles by all segments of society, institutions, groups and individuals to ensure respect for human rights and prevent any violation of them;

- Pool and coordinate current and future interventions of the various players in promoting the human rights culture by setting a time for them within the scope of a coherent vision.

The platform refers to the universal values and standards. It revolves around thirty structuring activities that cover three main areas, namely education, professional training and public awareness-raising, on the basis of a five-year planning. Thematic and sector-based meetings were held within this framework in parallel with advocacy campaign among political parties and trade unions in order to arouse their support for the process and ensure their involvement in the implementation later.

Public presentation and discussion around the monitoring mechanism: a national commitment

The public presentation of the project took place in February 2007 during a ceremony chaired by the Prime Minister, CCDH President and a representative of human rights NGOs. Since then, a new process has been initiated to establish a mechanism for monitoring the application of the Platform with the same spirit that prevailed at the first phase of the project.

After a period of discussion, dialogue and expertise, the Centre for Documentation, Information and Training in Human Rights (CDIFDH), a body attached to the CCDH, was entrusted with following up the project.

In December 2007, the Oversight Committee held its last meeting. Hence, the phase of drawing up the Platform came to an end, but as a step in an ongoing process which entails keeping the spirit of the start of the project, in particular through the tripartite composition the monitoring mechanism (government, national institutions and associations).

Towards the establishment of the Steering Committee

Since January 2008, a study on the mechanism which is supposed to steer the follow-up of the implementation has been carried out by the CCDH. Proposals have been made defining the characteristics of the steering committee in terms of organizational structure, rules of operation, membership and tools of governance and decision.

Within the scope of setting up the steering committee and given the particularity of the NGO representativeness, a workshop bringing together some fifty associations was held on June 16, 2008 at the CCDH headquarters. The fruitful exchanges between the participants led to the appointment of a "committee of wise men”. It was composed of three members in charge of proposing criteria for selecting representatives of NGOs within the steering committee. The committee thus fulfilled its mission by drawing up a document describing the process and selection methods.

In next September, the participatory process will continue through consultations with other stakeholders for official setting up of the steering committee which, as specified in the Platform, will, as a first step, ensure that the activities of “priority” are achieved. These activities which are of paramount importance are: operationalization of the platform, development of tools for monitoring and evaluation, and training of persons / focal points who should ensure the implementation of the operationalized Platform in their departments and services.

By Amina Lemrini Elouahabi: CCDH member and coordinator of the Oversight Committee on Drawing up the Citizen Platform for Promoting the Human Rights Culture.