Ms. Amina Bouayach, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), declared that the outcomes of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture (NPM) actions are highly positive and encouraging.The compliance rate ranged between 80 % and 90% in terms of interactions with its recommendations, whether with the Prisons Administration, the General Directorate for National Security (DGSN), or the Royal Gendarmerie.
This announcement is part of the CNDH Chairperson’s opening statement at the regional conference on “The Role of Security Institutions in Preventing Torture,” on Thursday 16 November 2023. She emphasized that these results are an incentive to continue working towards eliminating all that could affect human dignity in Morocco.
The NPM recommendations mainly focus on preserving the dignity of persons in places of deprivation of liberty, protecting them, continuing to strengthen the capacities of those working in these places, improving follow-up and management systems, and developing monitoring efforts in security rooms. This is based on the CNDH conviction that prevention provided complementarity in actions aiming to establish a culture of good governance and implement the recommendations to overcome the underlying causes that may lead to torture and ill-treatment.
The CNDH Chairperson noted that the CNDH-DGSN institutional partnership agreement was a voluntary choice and an enlightening practice for the cooperation of national institutions. She considered it as the best experience at the heart of national human rights action. It is one of the mechanisms for voluntary and collective engagement in establishing the foundations of security governance to enhance the effectiveness of human rights, she added.
Mr. Abdellatif Ouahbi, Minister of Justice, confirmed that the establishment of the NPM in 2019 constituted a new building block in the process of completing the national institutional edifice. He highlighted that this mechanism has been a qualitative addition and an effective means in terms of national efforts to prevent torture.
Minister of Justice noted that this mechanism also contributed to further enhancing mutual conviction with various stakeholders and mobilizing support for its actions/recommendations. Its regular visits to various places of deprivation of liberty embody, institutionally, procedurally and realistically, the best experience in terms of establishing the transparency/governance of deprivation systems and ensuring their compliance with external and sustained monitoring.
This regional conference was organized by the DGSN, CNDH, the Ministerial Delegation in charge of Human Rights, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, on 16 and 17 November 2023, under the slogan “Experiences and Challenges in the North Africa and Middle East Region.”
Government, judicial and security officials, and Moroccan/foreign experts participated in this event.
It aims to encourage security institutions concerned with the countries of the MENA region to continue implementing their international obligations and national legislation related to the prevention of torture.
Participants at this international mainly discussed the following topics:
- Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture,
- Roles of security institutions in preventing torture,
- Role of judicial oversight in preventing torture,
- Interaction of security institutions with the NPM, etc.
Read more
