Following HRW's annual report on the situation of human rights in the world for the year 2017, made public on January 18th, 2018, part of which was devoted to the human rights situation in Morocco, the Moroccan authorities express their rejection of some false allegations and accusations contained in the said Report, particularly with regard to the events in Al Hoceima, the trial of the individuals prosecuted in connection with the Gdim Izik events, as well as the management and treatment by public authorities of peaceful demonstrations and rallies, notably in the southern provinces, said a statement by the inter-ministerial delegation for human rights.

Regarding these false allegations, the Moroccan authorities wish to make the following clarifications:

Firstly, allegations of violations of the rights of persons arrested in connection with the Al Hoceima events, arguing that their trial is unfair, are belied by the constitutional, legal and real guarantees provided by the judiciary, given its total independence and the exercise of its powers in the context of a fair trial. What confirms the unsubstantiated nature of HRW's allegations is that the case is still before the court, which has not yet made a ruling. "What kind of lost guarantees is the HRW talking about?", the same sources wonder.

Secondly: Concerning the case of Gdim Izik events involving alleged murderers of 11 members of the security forces, the Moroccan authorities affirm that the military Court had already ruled on this case, as did the Court of Cassation that had decided to annul the verdict of the military Court and to resubmit the case to the criminal chamber of Rabat's appeal Court, which granted the defendants all the guarantees of a fair trial, as has been pointed out by the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) in its observations on the conduct of the trial as an independent national institution, accredited with status "A" by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, besides the statements of international and national observers.

Therefore, the allegations made by the NGO are nothing more than a reiteration of the claims of the enemies of Morocco's territorial integrity.

Thirdly, with regard to the allegation of "systematic prohibition" of gatherings in the southern provinces of the Kingdom, the public authorities claim that this allegation is not based on realistic data, since the management of non peaceful or unauthorized gatherings is done in accordance with the laws in force and the international commitments of Morocco in the field of human rights. A number of peaceful demonstrations and rallies are organized in all the Kingdom's provinces, reaching for example 11,752 gatherings in 2016, including 755 in the southern provinces. These gatherings are collated by the regional commissions of the National Human Rights Council in these provinces.

Consequently, the Moroccan authorities, while categorically rejecting the allegations and stances adopted by the organization and which aim to underestimate national efforts in the field of human rights and the guarantees of a fair trial ensured by the independent judiciary, affirm that Morocco's human rights trajectory, the gains it continues to accumulate and its advances can only be praised by any fair organization.

News and events on Western Sahara issue/ CORCAS