Advocacy / Morocco
Morocco frees Uyghur activist at risk of extradition to China
MENA Rights Group and Safeguard Defenders welcome the recent release of Uyghur activist Yidiresi Aishan, who faced extradition from Morocco to China following his arrest in 2021.
Civil society, UN Special Rapporteur alarmed about transnational repression in the MENA region
During an event at the UN Headquarters in New York, civil society organisations and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism raised their concerns regarding the troubling pattern of transnational repression in the MENA region.
NGOs praise UN Working Group ruling and urge immediate release of Moroccan political activist Nasser Zefzafi
Washington, DC and Geneva, Switzerland – The Committee for Justice, Freedom House and MENA Rights Group praised the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s (WGAD) recently announced Opinion qualifying the detention of Moroccan activist Nasser Zefzafi as arbitrary, and calling on the Moroccan government to take action
Lutte contre les disparitions forcées au Maroc : une affaire « du passé » ?
A l’occasion de sa vingt-septième session, qui s’est tenue du 23 septembre au 4 octobre 2024, le Comité des disparitions forcées de l’ONU a examiné le premier rapport du Maroc, dans lequel les autorités marocaines ont détaillé les mesures prises pour mettre en œuvre la Convention internationale pour la protection de toutes les personnes contre les disparitions forcées, ratifiée par le pays le 14 mai 2013.
NGOs petition UN working group to rule Moroccan activist’s detention as arbitrary
Committee for Justice, Freedom House, and MENA Rights Group have jointly petitioned the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on behalf of Nasser Zefzafi, an imprisoned political activist in Morocco. Zefzafi is serving an unjust 20-year prison sentence for his peaceful activism on behalf of his indigenous Amazigh community in the marginalized Rif region.
Elections of the Human Rights Council President for the 18th cycle in 2024
The UN Human Rights Council prepares to elect its 2024 President from Africa—Morocco & South Africa in the running. In a joint letter, MENA Rights group joins a coalition of NGOs in urging all members of the Council to elect the Council President based on Council membership criteria.
2 years in detention: Uyghur activist Idris Hasan must be released
Marking the 2 year anniversary of his arrest, MENA Rights Group and Safeguard Defenders call on Moroccan authorities to cancel extradition proceedings against Uyghur activist Idris Hasan and to ensure his passage to a safe country.
Universal Periodic Review of Morocco: An opportunity for the authorities to address the ongoing rollback on human rights?
On November 8, 2022, the United Nations’ Human Rights Council (HRC) held its 4th cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Morocco. The UPR is a peer review mechanism by which UN Member States provide recommendations to improve the human rights record of the countries under review. Ahead of the review, in March 2022, MENA Rights Group submitted a shadow report outlining a set of recommendations.
Rights groups reiterate their call on Moroccan authorities to end the persecution of Taoufik Bouachrine, and other critical journalists
MENA Rights Group joined 41 civil society organisations in signing an open letter to the Moroccan authorities urging them to release, among other journalists and human rights defenders, Taoufik Bouachrine. The journalist is currently detained for simply exercising his right to freedom of expression.
Joint letter to the Prime Minister of Morocco condemning the extradition of Hassan al-Rabea
On February 13, 2023, MENA Rights Group and over 20 human rights organisations sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Morocco condemning and seeking an explanation for the extradition of Saudi national Hassan al-Rabea to Saudi Arabia, where he risks serious human rights abuses including torture.