On April 20, 2018, the U.S. Department of State released its annual report on human rights in every country in the world. [1]
Here is the very short Executive Summary of its report about Morocco’s human rights record in 2017:[2]
- “Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary national legislative system under which ultimate authority rests with King Mohammed VI, who presides over the Council of Ministers. The king shares executive authority with the Head of Government (prime minister) Saadeddine El Othmani. According to the constitution, the king appoints the head of government from the political party with the most seats in parliament and approves members of the government nominated by the head of government. International and domestic observers judged the 2016 parliamentary elections credible and relatively free from irregularities.”
- “Civilian authorities maintained effective control over security forces.”
- ‘The most significant human rights issues included reports that security forces used techniques that may have constituted torture in some cases, although the government was taking steps to eliminate the practice; allegations that there were political prisoners; limits on freedom of expression, including criminalization of certain political and religious content; limits on freedom of assembly and association; and corruption.”
- “There were few examples of investigations or prosecutions of human rights abuses by officials, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the government, which contributed to the widespread perception of impunity.”
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[1] U.S. State Dep’t, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017 (April 20, 2018); U.S. State Dep’t, Remarks on the Release of the 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (April 20, 2018).
[2] U.S. State Dep’t, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017: Morocco (April 20, 2018).
