13 January 2010

Moroccan authorities have failed to deliver on their promises to tackle the legacy of gross human rights violations committed in Morocco and Western Sahara between 1956 and 1999, Amnesty International said ahead of a report to be published on the issue.

The organization said Moroccan authorities have failed to provide justice to the many victims of the “years of lead”, decades in which hundreds of people were victims of enforced disappearances and thousands of others were arbitrarily detained or tortured.

An official commission established by King Mohammed VI six years ago to investigate human rights violations committed by the Moroccan security services between 1956 and 1999 has failed to fully deal with the legacy of the violations.

The Equity and Reconciliation Commission (Instance Equité et Réconciliation, IER) finished its work four years ago. The King then tasked the Advisory Council on Human Rights (Conseil Consultatif des Droits de l'Homme, CCDH), the national institution for the protection and promotion of human rights, to follow-up on the IER's work and recommendations.

The IER was able to reveal only part of the truth about the gross violations of the past and was given no role to pursue justice for the victims. It recommended a number of legal and institutional reforms to ensure that such violations cannot occur again, but the overwhelming majority of these have not been implemented.

The CCDH is due to publish a report Thursday 14 January detailing its efforts to carry forward the IER’s work.

Amnesty International's report, Broken Promises: the Equity and Reconciliation Commission and its follow-up, published last week, expressed concern at the slow pace of implementation of the IER’s recommendations. Amnesty International has called on King Mohamed VI to honour the expectations raised by the IER’s work.

"In order not to undermine the progress made since the inauguration of the IER in 2004, it is crucial that the Moroccan authorities tackle the shortcomings and gaps in the process of addressing the legacy of the past," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Director.

The systematic use of torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention of thousands of individuals plagued the period under the rule of King Hassan II (1961-99).

Hundreds disappeared at the hands of the Moroccan security services, especially when the Moroccan authorities felt threatened by internal or external opposition.

Victims of enforced disappearance included activists in opposition parties, trade unionists and even farmers who had led demonstrations.

The phenomenon disproportionately affected Sahrawis. Most of them are thought to have disappeared because of their real or suspected support for the independence of Western Sahara, a territory Morocco annexed in 1975.

The Commission’s final report was made public in January 2006. It acknowledged the responsibility of the Moroccan authorities for gross human rights violations, recommended reparation for victims and called for further actions by the Moroccan authorities to guarantee that such violations do not recur.

Amnesty International's report warns that four years after the IER completed its work, its achievements risk being debilitated by the lack of political will of the Moroccan authorities.

It also says that the onus is on the Moroccan authorities to deliver on promises and to implement key recommendations made by the IER to ensure non-repetition.

The IER investigated over 700 cases of enforced disappearance occurring between the mid-1960s and the early 1990s.

The IER said that it had resolved 742 cases of enforced disappearance. The 66 pending cases were investigated by the CCDH, of which it confirmed to have resolved about 60.

Despite repeated promises, a list of all clarified cases has not yet been published.

The Amnesty International report criticizes the IER’s failure to recommend that the authorities address justice for the victims as a natural progression of its work in investigating human rights violations.

The IER also failed to call for a vetting mechanism to ensure that officials reasonably suspected of committing human rights violations are suspended.

Amnesty International recognizes that some positive steps have been taken, particularly in providing financial compensation to victims, but also in medical rehabilitation and restoration of employment. However, there is no appeal mechanism to enable victims to challenge decisions in their cases.

"Amnesty International believes that there can be no genuine reconciliation without restoring the dignity of victims by providing a full explanation of reasons why they were victimized," said Malcolm Smart.

"Without holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes and introducing real safeguards to protect society from the recurrence of such gross human rights violations, talk of a genuine desire to face the past in the aim of building a better future seems hollow."