Morocco consolidates its mechanisms for protection of human rights

After more than two years of work, the closing ceremony of the European Union Twinning project “Strengthening the institutional capacities of the Inter-ministerial Delegation on Human Rights in Morocco” was held.

Over a period of 25 months, the project accompanied Morocco’s efforts to align itself with international commitments on human rights.

The event highlighted the achievements in the area of human rights in Morocco through the Interministerial Delegation for Human Rights (DIDH), which has consolidated itself as a reference institution for promoting the human rights focus in all Moroccan policies and ensuring follow-up of UN recommendations.

At international level, very few countries have implemented an independent national coordination mechanism, putting the DIDH at the forefront of promotion of human rights. 

Some of the achievements of these 25 months of work were:

• Creation of six practical handbooks with the objective of facilitating the participation and interaction of the different Moroccan human rights agents.

• Training of more than 180 representatives of the government departments and national institutions working in the area of protection and promotion of human rights.

• Development of a participatory information system that will allow the government departments and institutions to report on implementation of the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations in a comprehensive manner.

The Head of Cooperation at the European Union, Philip Mikos, led the closing ceremony, which was also attended by representatives of the embassies of Spain and France, as well as the Councillor of Education of Castilla y León, Fernando Rey.

These results were achieved with the help of over 50 international experts in diverse disciplines related to human rights, including Spain’s CEPC (Policy and Constitutional Study Centre), Expertise France, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights, the Ministry for the Presidency of Spain, the Ministry of Justice, INAP, the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and academics from Spanish universities.