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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Morocco is a monarchy with a constitution, under which ultimate authority rests with King Mohammed VI, who presides over the Council of Ministers. The king may dismiss ministers, dissolve parliament, and call for new elections. International and domestic observers judged that the November 25 parliamentary elections were credible and relatively free from government-sponsored irregularities. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
Beginning in the spring, the country underwent a four-month constitutional reform process. In a March 9 speech, the king outlined the guidelines for the new constitution. A commission of experts whom he appointed wrote it, with input from an “accompanying mechanism” coordinating with political parties and numerous nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), associations, and individuals. The king presented the text publicly on June 17, and the populace adopted it in a referendum on July 1. This new document safeguards the essential powers of the king as the supreme arbiter among political forces, while marginally increasing the authority of parliament. The new constitution made significant steps in codifying civil liberties and advancing gender parity. Arab Spring-inspired social upheaval was relatively mild, although a new protest movement emerged, the February 20 Movement, that staged near-weekly peaceful demonstrations across the country to demand political, economic, and social reforms as well as an end to government corruption, to which the government sometimes responded with excessive force (see below).
The most significant, continuing human rights problems were the lack of citizens’ right to change the constitutional provisions establishing the country’s monarchical form of government, arbitrary arrests, and corruption in all branches of government.
Other human rights problems reported during the year included police use of excessive force to quell peaceful protests, resulting in dozens of injuries and at least four deaths; torture and other abuses by the security forces; incommunicado detention; poor prison and detention conditions; political prisoners and detainees; infringement of freedom of the press; lack of freedom of assembly; lack of independence of the judiciary; discrimination against women and girls; trafficking in persons; and child labor, particularly in the informal sector.
There was a problem of police and security force impunity, but the government took steps to address the issue.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:Share
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
There were reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. On February 20, five protesters died in a bank fire in Al Hoceima. Security officials said that the five were among a large group engaged in vandalism and robbery when the fire broke out, but human rights NGOs and family members alleged police brutality and a cover-up. In addition, NGOs and the February 20 Movement alleged that two other protesters died during protests as the result of police officers’ use of excessive force. Authorities denied those charges but opened investigations in both cases.
Kamal Ammari, a participant in a February 20 Movement demonstration in Safi, was severely injured in clashes with police on May 29 and died four days later. Officials initially denied responsibility but later declared the cause was a severe respiratory illness. Ammari’s family, domestic and international human rights NGOs, and eyewitnesses challenged the government’s version of events, alleging that he died as a result of police beatings. The National Council for Human Rights (CNDH), created and funded by the government, which succeeded the Consultative Council on Human Rights (CCDH) on March 1, conducted an investigation but did not release conclusions. Additionally, Karim Chaib, a protester in a demonstration on February 20 in Sefrou, was injured severely when security forces violently dispersed the crowd. He died on February 23, allegedly from wounds sustained during this police crackdown. No results were available in either investigation by year’s end (see section 2.b.).
There were no charges filed resulting from a continuing investigation into the September 2010 death after two days of imprisonment of Fodeil Aberkane following an altercation with police. Authorities were investigating one police officer and five guards, three of whom were in pretrial detention.
b. Disappearance
The country’s penal code requires security forces to inform a detainee of charges and inform the detainee’s family of his or her whereabouts within 48 hours. The antiterrorism law provides an exception to this rule by permitting authorities to detain suspects without informing their families for up to 96 hours. This initial detention period may be renewed twice--with the written authorization of the prosecutor--up to a total detention time of 12 days. In addition authorities may prevent communication between the detainee and his/her lawyer for up to two days after the initial four-day detention expires (see section 1.d.).
The government stated that it followed the law in all cases and that there were no cases of disappearance. However, the domestic NGO the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), the international NGOs Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), an Islamist-oriented political party, claimed that in several cases from 2010, authorities did not follow the provisions of the penal code or the antiterrorism law and that prolonged periods in unknown locations amounted to disappearances in these cases.
During the year the PJD, the February 20 Movement, and several domestic human rights NGOs mounted a public campaign calling for the closure of an alleged secret detention facility at Temara. Government authorities denied the facility existed and continued to claim that arrest and pretrial detention were mistakenly equated with abduction and forced disappearances and that families were informed about the whereabouts of those detained. However, authorities permitted the CNDH and several members of parliament to tour the Temara facility (see section 5). In the wake of the public campaign calling for the closure of the Temara facility, there were fewer reports of incommunicado detentions.
Regarding the unresolved cases of disappearance dating back to the 1970s and 1980s, the CNDH continued to investigate claims of enforced and involuntary disappearances. The government reported that since 2004 it had provided reparations to 25,442 victims of disappearance or other abuses committed between 1956 and 1999 or to their family members. Reparations were in the form of money, health care, employment, or vocational training. A total of 345 beneficiaries received reparations during the year amounting to the equivalent of more than five million dollars. The CNDH also began shifting its activities to community reparation projects and supported 107 of these--such as women’s empowerment, income generation, and preservation of the environment--in 13 provinces. The CNDH continued to review open claims for reparation and occasionally received new claims, especially in Western Sahara.
Human rights groups representing Sahrawis, an ethnic minority living throughout the country and constituting the majority of the population of Western Sahara at the time of the contested disappearances, voiced concern over the slow pace at which the CNDH was addressing outstanding and new claims. An association of victims and their families claimed that at least 114 cases remained unresolved and accused the government and CNDH of failing to acknowledge many additional cases of disappearances, especially from Western Sahara, that occurred between 1956 and 1999.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Morocco is a monarchy with a constitution, under which ultimate authority rests with King Mohammed VI, who presides over the Council of Ministers. The king may dismiss ministers, dissolve parliament, and call for new elections. International and domestic observers judged that the November 25 parliamentary elections were credible and relatively free from government-sponsored irregularities. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
Beginning in the spring, the country underwent a four-month constitutional reform process. In a March 9 speech, the king outlined the guidelines for the new constitution. A commission of experts whom he appointed wrote it, with input from an “accompanying mechanism” coordinating with political parties and numerous nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), associations, and individuals. The king presented the text publicly on June 17, and the populace adopted it in a referendum on July 1. This new document safeguards the essential powers of the king as the supreme arbiter among political forces, while marginally increasing the authority of parliament. The new constitution made significant steps in codifying civil liberties and advancing gender parity. Arab Spring-inspired social upheaval was relatively mild, although a new protest movement emerged, the February 20 Movement, that staged near-weekly peaceful demonstrations across the country to demand political, economic, and social reforms as well as an end to government corruption, to which the government sometimes responded with excessive force (see below).
The most significant, continuing human rights problems were the lack of citizens’ right to change the constitutional provisions establishing the country’s monarchical form of government, arbitrary arrests, and corruption in all branches of government.
Other human rights problems reported during the year included police use of excessive force to quell peaceful protests, resulting in dozens of injuries and at least four deaths; torture and other abuses by the security forces; incommunicado detention; poor prison and detention conditions; political prisoners and detainees; infringement of freedom of the press; lack of freedom of assembly; lack of independence of the judiciary; discrimination against women and girls; trafficking in persons; and child labor, particularly in the informal sector.
There was a problem of police and security force impunity, but the government took steps to address the issue.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:Share
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
There were reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. On February 20, five protesters died in a bank fire in Al Hoceima. Security officials said that the five were among a large group engaged in vandalism and robbery when the fire broke out, but human rights NGOs and family members alleged police brutality and a cover-up. In addition, NGOs and the February 20 Movement alleged that two other protesters died during protests as the result of police officers’ use of excessive force. Authorities denied those charges but opened investigations in both cases.
Kamal Ammari, a participant in a February 20 Movement demonstration in Safi, was severely injured in clashes with police on May 29 and died four days later. Officials initially denied responsibility but later declared the cause was a severe respiratory illness. Ammari’s family, domestic and international human rights NGOs, and eyewitnesses challenged the government’s version of events, alleging that he died as a result of police beatings. The National Council for Human Rights (CNDH), created and funded by the government, which succeeded the Consultative Council on Human Rights (CCDH) on March 1, conducted an investigation but did not release conclusions. Additionally, Karim Chaib, a protester in a demonstration on February 20 in Sefrou, was injured severely when security forces violently dispersed the crowd. He died on February 23, allegedly from wounds sustained during this police crackdown. No results were available in either investigation by year’s end (see section 2.b.).
There were no charges filed resulting from a continuing investigation into the September 2010 death after two days of imprisonment of Fodeil Aberkane following an altercation with police. Authorities were investigating one police officer and five guards, three of whom were in pretrial detention.
b. Disappearance
The country’s penal code requires security forces to inform a detainee of charges and inform the detainee’s family of his or her whereabouts within 48 hours. The antiterrorism law provides an exception to this rule by permitting authorities to detain suspects without informing their families for up to 96 hours. This initial detention period may be renewed twice--with the written authorization of the prosecutor--up to a total detention time of 12 days. In addition authorities may prevent communication between the detainee and his/her lawyer for up to two days after the initial four-day detention expires (see section 1.d.).
The government stated that it followed the law in all cases and that there were no cases of disappearance. However, the domestic NGO the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), the international NGOs Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), an Islamist-oriented political party, claimed that in several cases from 2010, authorities did not follow the provisions of the penal code or the antiterrorism law and that prolonged periods in unknown locations amounted to disappearances in these cases.
During the year the PJD, the February 20 Movement, and several domestic human rights NGOs mounted a public campaign calling for the closure of an alleged secret detention facility at Temara. Government authorities denied the facility existed and continued to claim that arrest and pretrial detention were mistakenly equated with abduction and forced disappearances and that families were informed about the whereabouts of those detained. However, authorities permitted the CNDH and several members of parliament to tour the Temara facility (see section 5). In the wake of the public campaign calling for the closure of the Temara facility, there were fewer reports of incommunicado detentions.
Regarding the unresolved cases of disappearance dating back to the 1970s and 1980s, the CNDH continued to investigate claims of enforced and involuntary disappearances. The government reported that since 2004 it had provided reparations to 25,442 victims of disappearance or other abuses committed between 1956 and 1999 or to their family members. Reparations were in the form of money, health care, employment, or vocational training. A total of 345 beneficiaries received reparations during the year amounting to the equivalent of more than five million dollars. The CNDH also began shifting its activities to community reparation projects and supported 107 of these--such as women’s empowerment, income generation, and preservation of the environment--in 13 provinces. The CNDH continued to review open claims for reparation and occasionally received new claims, especially in Western Sahara.
Human rights groups representing Sahrawis, an ethnic minority living throughout the country and constituting the majority of the population of Western Sahara at the time of the contested disappearances, voiced concern over the slow pace at which the CNDH was addressing outstanding and new claims. An association of victims and their families claimed that at least 114 cases remained unresolved and accused the government and CNDH of failing to acknowledge many additional cases of disappearances, especially from Western Sahara, that occurred between 1956 and 1999.
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