GENEVA: MR. MOHAMED ESSABBAR HIGHLIGHTS CNDH’S EFFORTS TO PROMOTE MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS

CNDH SG highlights, in the UNHRC’s 17th session, CNDH’s efforts to promote migrants’ rights, in Geneva, on May 31st, 2011.

Secretary General of the (Moroccan) National Human Rights Council (CNDH) Mr. Mohamed Essabbar participated in the Interactive Dialogue on the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, on May 31st, 2011. This Dialogue was held within the framework of the 17th session of the UN Human Rights Council held in Geneva from May 30 to June 17, 2011.

Speaking in this occasion, Mr. Essabbar indicated that the Moroccan human rights council elaborated, in partnership with civil society stakeholders and government departments, a National Plan of Action on Democracy and Human Rights. This plan, he added, aims to guarantee the fundamental rights of migrants in Morocco and abroad, integrate the migration dimension in public policies, improve reception conditions, reinforce the various cultural, religious and linguistic links between Moroccan communities and their country of origin, guarantee the right to movement for Moroccan women migrants, improve all means of monitoring, research and follow-up regarding the phenomenon of migration from and to Morocco, etc.

The issue of migration is included in the Arab-European Human Rights Dialogue of national human rights institutions (AEHRD), established in 2007, Mr. Essabbar said. Dynamic member the AEHRD Secretariat, the Moroccan National Human Rights Council elaborated a questionnaire on migration to highlight the efforts made by the AEHRD member institutions to protect and promote migrant workers’ rights in legal, judicial, administrative, educational and cultural fields and prevent violations of their rights. AEHRD national human rights institutions got down to organizing seminars and training sessions, raising awareness about migrants’ rights, giving advice to legislative and executive powers in order to adopt laws guaranteeing the rights of migrant workers. This questionnaire, Mr. Essabbar further explained, helped indentify the difficulties migrant workers face in terms of access to legal services and integration.

The report of the Dialogue’s Working Group on the Rights of Migrant Workers was presented during the sixth meeting of the Arab-European Human Rights Dialogue, held in Berlin in May 2011, CNDH SG said. This report, he explained, highlights the challenges and difficulties migrant workers face and the need to take necessary measures to fight against the phenomenon of human trafficking and regulate the recruitment operations of migrant workers.