On Friday, May 15, 2026, the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) held a national meeting at its headquarters in the Moroccan capital Rabat on the abolition of the death penalty. The event is a culmination of a series of interactive discussions and workshops organized with young people as part of a broader human rights initiative aimed at broadening youth support for the right to life. The initiative brought together participants aged 18 to 30 from all twelve regions of the Kingdom.

Opening the meeting, the CNDH Chairperso, Ms. Amina Bouayach, described the right to life as “the foundation of all rights,” stressing that it “cannot be violated under any justification or circumstance.” She further affirmed that “the death penalty is incompatible with human dignity and with the absolute and fundamental right to life.”

The “Youth for Abolition” initiative is part of the Council’s ongoing advocacy for the effective protection of the right to life. Ms. Bouayach emphasized the CNDH’s conviction that younger generations have a central role to play in promoting a culture of human rights. “Building a society that truly believes in the right to life begins with instilling the values of dignity, justice, and humanity in younger generations”. Expanding support for the abolition of the death penalty, she added, also means investing in a generation of young people capable of carrying this debate forward and deepening public awareness around it.

She also highlighted the significance of Morocco’s historic vote in favor of the United Nations resolution calling for a universal moratorium on the death penalty, alongside the country’s de facto suspension of executions for more than three decades.

Launched in April, the initiative included a nationwide series of workshops and discussions focused on the right to life and the abolition of the death penalty. It was carried out through a partnership between the CNDH, the Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty, the Council of Europe, and the Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM).

Twelve regional workshops were held across Morocco, covering themes such as the right to life in international human rights law, the constitutional foundations of the right to life, national legislation relating to the death penalty, and comparative international experiences and best practices regarding abolition in both law and practice. At the conclusion of these workshops, participants selected 24 young representatives (two from each region of Morocco) to take part in the national meeting. Their work will culminate in a national declaration carrying the voice of Moroccan youth on the right to life to the upcoming International Congress on the Abolition of the Death Penalty.

Although Morocco has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1993, the death penalty remains part of the country’s legal framework and death sentences continue to be handed down by courts. The Council stressed that advocacy for abolition is rooted not only in the belief that capital punishment is cruel, inhumane, ineffective, and non-deterrent, but also in the need to uphold the constitutional right to life enshrined in Article 20 of the Moroccan Constitution.

The CNDH also affirmed that the right to life is a universal and absolute right and the most essential of all human rights. Abolishing the death penalty, both in legislation and in practice, is therefore fully consistent with Morocco’s constitutional principles and international human rights commitments, particularly following the Kingdom’s vote in December 2024 in support of the UN moratorium on the use of the death penalty.