Assahafa.com
The President of Morocco’s National Human Rights Council (CNDH), Amina Bouayach, held an extended meeting on Wednesday with the presidents of the regional human rights commissions, along with directors and mission officers at the Council’s presidency, to discuss ways to strengthen the CNDH’s mechanisms for observation, monitoring, and intervention in light of recent developments related to youth-led protests in several Moroccan cities.
From the onset of protest calls, the Council deployed teams for observation, monitoring on the ground, and preventive intervention at three main levels: regional (through its commissions in the Kingdom’s twelve regions), national, and digital, in addition to communication on the ground with local authorities or young people at the protest sites, the CNDH said in a statement.
Acknowledging that the digital space has become a field of freedoms where new values are expressed, providing a framework for youth engagement, participation, and peaceful expression of fundamental and legitimate rights, the Council noted that the youth protests, which began following calls for demonstrations, were initially peaceful, adding that some of them were then marred by acts of violence, including inappropriate or inadequate forms of intervention, and other forms of serious violence, as well as by excesses, stone throwing, looting, car fires, and destruction of public and private property.
The Council emphasized the need to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly as one of the achievements of the national process in the area of democracy and human rights, including the shared responsibility of demonstration organizers and public authorities in maintaining public order while guaranteeing the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.
The CNDH underscored the imperative of ensuring an interpretation based on a human rights approach to the right to peaceful assembly, regardless of authorization or notification, and the need to the need to preserve the peaceful nature of gatherings and protests, especially considering the unique forms of digital expression emerging in this context.
The Council advocated for the protection of citizens and the safeguarding of their right to protest peacefully, as well as for strengthened protection against all forms of violence that may harm the physical integrity of both protesters and law enforcement.
As part of its monitoring of the digital space, the Council identified numerous online expressions involving misinformation, explicit and dangerous calls to violence, incitement to burn public institutions and government buildings, and threats targeting the residences of officials, including calls for physical liquidation.
There have also been flagrant violations of the dignity of citizens who do not wish to participate in the protests or who, in their comments and content, call for the rejection of violence and respect for peaceful protest, particularly women (Common feature: rrecently created accounts, others that had been deactivated, others with no content and no subscribers, while many accounts were found to have foreign origins, based on analysis of their information and posts.).
Based on the preliminary conclusions of the monitoring, observation, and intervention reports, the National Human Rights Council reaffirmed that the right to freedom of expression is a universal and constitutional right and a fundamental norm on which the full enjoyment of a range of other human rights is based, without prejudice to the rights and reputation of others, national security, public order, public health, or public morals.
The Council reiterated that the right to peaceful assembly, including demonstrations, protests, and sit-ins, is a universal right enshrined in the Moroccan Constitution and is one of the foundations of participation, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and pluralism.
Peaceful assembly, as recognized by international human rights mechanisms, is inherently different from large-scale violent gatherings, the same source added, noting that according to this approach, exercising this right through violence is strictly prohibited.
On the evening of Wednesday, October 1st, the Council continued monitoring the situation at the national, regional, and digital levels. Peaceful demonstrations were reported in several cities, including significant participation by minors, notably in Salé, Errachidia, Dakhla, Taroudant (Leqliaa), and Rabat. Some of these demonstrations were marred by serious acts of violence.
While expressing its deep regret at the deaths of three people following the protests in Leqliaa, in the prefecture of Inezgane-Ait Melloul, as well as the injuries sustained by protesters and law enforcement officers throughout the days of protest, the Council takes note of the statement released regarding the circumstances leading to the shooting deaths of these individuals.
The CNDH also welcomed the release of a large number of protesters, condemning the attempt to storm and set fire to the Royal Gendarmerie center in Leqliaa, given that families live on the first floor of this building.
Furthermore, the Council stressed the need to launch an investigation into cases of violations of the right to life or physical integrity. While closely following these regrettable developments, the CNDH affirms that it will continue its monitoring operations and interventions in the field, as well as trial observation.
Offering condolences to the families of the three deceased individuals, the Council and its regional commissions remain open to all forms of expression and dialogue aimed at ensuring the effective exercise of rights and freedoms for all citizens.
Source: map
