Fight against Torture: Morocco's Efforts Highlighted in Geneva
Geneva - Morocco's efforts to uphold human rights principles and fight against torture were highlighted, on Monday in Geneva, on the occasion of a side-event organized as part of the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council. Speaking at this meeting organized by the International Initiative for the Convention against Torture, which was launched by Morocco and four other countries, Minister of State for Human Rights and Relations with Parliament Mustapha Ramid noted that the Kingdom has an important legal arsenal to deal with this issue with professionalism and full respect for human rights.
Morocco made the fight against torture a constitutional provision, by stipulating in chapter 22 of the 2011 Constitution an explicit incrimination of all violations, including torture, in addition to giving a definition to the crime of torture (chapter 231-1 of the Moroccan Penal Code) which provides the victim with several guarantees during the investigation and trial, he recalled. Likewise, confessions obtained under torture are considered null and void and give the victim the right to demand compensation for the damage, he said, noting that the Parliament had recently approved the law regulating the exercise of forensic tests. The Kingdom is determined to modify its penal code and the code of criminal procedure to ensure a more efficient implementation of the international standards relating to fair trial, he underlined. "All these measures adopted by Morocco at the national and international levels, including its adherence to the initiative for the convention against torture, mirror its strong commitment to the fight against torture in all its forms", he added. Convinced of the importance of prevention, the Kingdom set up a mechanism for the prevention of torture, as stipulated in the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, through the new law governing the National Council of Human Rights (CNDH), he said. Launched in March 2014 by Morocco, Chile, Denmark, Ghana and Indonesia, and later by Fiji, the initiative for the convention against torture aims to support the ratification and implementation of the Convention against Torture with a view to a universal ratification by 2024.
Morocco made the fight against torture a constitutional provision, by stipulating in chapter 22 of the 2011 Constitution an explicit incrimination of all violations, including torture, in addition to giving a definition to the crime of torture (chapter 231-1 of the Moroccan Penal Code) which provides the victim with several guarantees during the investigation and trial, he recalled. Likewise, confessions obtained under torture are considered null and void and give the victim the right to demand compensation for the damage, he said, noting that the Parliament had recently approved the law regulating the exercise of forensic tests. The Kingdom is determined to modify its penal code and the code of criminal procedure to ensure a more efficient implementation of the international standards relating to fair trial, he underlined. "All these measures adopted by Morocco at the national and international levels, including its adherence to the initiative for the convention against torture, mirror its strong commitment to the fight against torture in all its forms", he added. Convinced of the importance of prevention, the Kingdom set up a mechanism for the prevention of torture, as stipulated in the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, through the new law governing the National Council of Human Rights (CNDH), he said. Launched in March 2014 by Morocco, Chile, Denmark, Ghana and Indonesia, and later by Fiji, the initiative for the convention against torture aims to support the ratification and implementation of the Convention against Torture with a view to a universal ratification by 2024.
Source : https://www.emouaten.com/english/Fight-against-Tor...