Description missing for this image.
Published on

Ms. Amina Bouayach, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), participated in the national seminar titled “Personal Data Protection in Service of Constitutional Values” organized by the National Commission for the Control of Personal Data Protection (CNDP) in collaboration with constitutional institutions. At this event, she emphasized that protecting personal data and safeguarding human rights represents a delicate balance that requires digital policies rooted in the dignity of individuals, ensuring freedom of expression while protecting personal data from exploitation or violation of fundamental rights.

In her statement, Ms. Bouayach stressed the importance of personal data protection as a fundamental human right, highlighting the contemporary challenges posed by the digital age and advanced technologies. She outlined the CNDH approach to personal data protection, which is based on six key pillars:
1.    Recognizing privacy protection as a core right essential to safeguarding individual dignity and ensuring fundamental freedoms.
2.    Emphasizing the need for stringent frameworks to manage the collection and processing of personal data in the context of digital transformations.
3.    Underscoring the necessity of protecting vulnerable groups, including women, children, and migrants—against the misuse of personal data in the digital space, where exploitation, manipulation and targeting might be rampant.
4.    Highlighting the importance of raising awareness and fostering digital literacy among individuals, as several users lack sufficient knowledge about how to protect their data or understand its use.
5.    Stressing the interdependence of data protection with other rights, such as freedom of expression and access to information, and noting that these rights are interconnected without a defined hierarchy.
6.    Addressing the challenges posed by artificial intelligence and modern algorithms, emphasizing the need for transparency, proportionality, and non-discrimination to prevent potential violations
 

Description missing for this image.

 

Ms. Bouayach noted that unregulated use of personal data could lead to privacy violations, exploitation of vulnerable groups, and spreading false information, which threatens social cohesion. She underlined the importance of adopting robust safeguards and renewed digital policies based on respecting human dignity.

She further addressed the potential tensions between personal data protection and other rights, such as freedom of expression or access to information. Ms. Bouaych underlined that balancing these rights depends on specific contexts and that human rights are interconnected and complementary, with no absolute hierarchy or priority.

Moreover, Ms. Bouayach highlighted the CNDH efforts to foster trust in the digital space, advocate for transparency in technology design, conduct human rights impact assessments for data processing and ensure personal data protection during crises and emergencies. She emphasized that data processing in such contexts should be temporary, voluntary, and purpose-specific, with data deleted once it is no longer needed. These efforts, she noted, are part of a comprehensive vision that places human rights and dignity at the core of digital policies.

Heads and representatives of constitutional institutions—including the Public Prosecution Office, Supreme Council of Judicial Power, Ombudsman Institution, Economic, Social and Environmental Council, Council of the Moroccan Community Living Abroad, High Authority for Audiovisual Communication, Competition Council, and National Authority for Probity Prevention and Fight against Corruption— participated in this event.

This seminar was organized by the CNDP as part of the "Personal Data/Privacy Protection Week," held from January 27 to 31, 2025, to commemorate the International Data Protection Day, celebrated annually on January 28.

Download CNDH Chairperson Statement (Available in Arabic)

Read more