7TH ORDINARY SESSION: VIOLENCE IN UNIVERSITIES, PEACEFUL PROTESTS, DISABILITY RIGHTS, AND PENAL PROCEDURE

The National Human Rights Council (CNDH) held its seventh ordinary session on Wednesday, June 25, 2014, at its main office in Rabat. This session discussed the preliminary conclusions of CNDH’s study on violence in universities, draft memorandum on the right to peaceful protests, draft memorandum on the penal procedure, and its plan of action on disability rights:

Violence in Moroccan universities

• This study analyses violence in universities through three main elements: research on the history of violence in Moroccan universities; map of stakeholders and universities known for violence acts; and the classification of violence, incitements and practices.

Memo on penal procedure code

• The proposals of this draft memo take into account the different national and international relevant declarative and normative benchmark. These proposals aim at the prevention of torture, reducing the risk of arbitrary detention, pretrial detention, protection of women victims of violence, protection of victims of trafficking in persons, simplifying the judicial procedures, etc.

Disability rights

• The members of CNDH discussed the outline of CNDH’s strategy on disability rights. They mainly discussed CNDH’s plan of action to follow-up on the implementation of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in public policies, including the rights of persons with disabilities in CNDH’s national and regional mechanisms, regionalization and awareness-raising about disability rights, etc.

Peaceful protests

• CNDH’s memo on the right to peaceful protests takes into account the relevant declarative and normative benchmark and judicial jurisprudence. It also takes into consideration an earlier study published by the Council on the right to peaceful protests and the recommendations of several thematic workshops held by the Council on this subject. NGOs, judges, lawyers, representatives of government departments and administrations concerned with freedoms of assembly and association and the right to peaceful protest took part in these workshops.

The session also discussed a paper on the (second) World Forum on Human Rights (Marrakech, November 2014). The organization of the forum in Morocco, the paper said, is an opportunity to open international public debate on human rights protection and promotion issues. The paper highlighted the role of the CNDH in this regard, given its important position as a national institution that can significantly contribute to the success of this international event.