The European Court of Human Rights has requested that Russia not execute Saadoun.

According to Moroccan diplomatic sources in Kiev, the court that issued the sentence is not recognized internationally or by Morocco.

The Russian government has been compelled by the European Court of Human Rights to overturn Brahim Saadoun’s death sentence and guarantee that his rights are upheld.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Strasbourg court outlined the Russian government’s demands. The statement went on to say that the governments of both Russia and Ukraine should see to it that the detainee is treated humanely and given all of his or her rights, including access to medical care.

The court requested information from the Russian government within two weeks regarding the steps taken to “ensure respect of the treaty rights” of Saadoun.

The court further stated that because he was detained while serving in the Ukrainian army as a uniformed member of its military, which gives him protection under the Geneva Convention, Ukraine must ensure and uphold his contractual rights.

Regionally and internationally, there was significant condemnation of the case of Saadoun and the two British men who were also given the death penalty. Russia and the authorities in Donetsk have been urged not to execute the contentious sentence.

While serving in the Ukrainian military, Saadoun was captured by Russian forces in April. He and two other Ukrainian fighters were given the death penalty during a trial on Wednesday, June 8.

Saadoun is accused of being a foreign mercenary, but international organizations and activists claim that because he is a prisoner of war who fought for Ukraine after earning Ukrainian citizenship, he cannot be executed.

Recent pleas from friends and family for governments to act to spare the men from the death penalty have increased.

According to Moroccan diplomatic sources in Kiev, neither Morocco nor the international community recognize the court that imposed the punishment.

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Algeria’s attempts to rally supporters for its crusade against Morocco’s legal situation, as well as its futile attempts to involve international platforms in adopting such positions, were bluntly rejected by Morocco.

In this context, Morocco’s representative Omar Zniber refused the Algerian representative’s marketing of lies about the situation in Morocco during a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council specifically set to discuss a proposition concerning the designation of a fact-finding committee to investigate possible Russian abuses during the military operation in Ukraine.

In light of Algeria’s challenging political circumstances and its use of the judiciary to stifle opposing views, the Moroccan ambassador considered Algeria was neither qualified nor authorized to talk about the Moroccan issue.

He emphasized that “Morocco will never permit being attacked in that manner,” referring to a report by the UN’s special commissary in charge of freedom of expression, which painted a bleak image of Algeria’s situation.

The Moroccan representative’s retort was in response to his Algerian counterpart’s attempts to spread his country’s anti-Kingdom antagonism and undermine the kingdom’s territorial integrity.

His tirade against the kingdom’s legal situation was intended to defend his country’s support of the Polisario in the Sahara conflict. He also expressed his country’s indignation about reports of children being conscripted in Tindouf camps. 

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The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bashelet, yesterday, Wednesday April 28,2021 in Geneva welcomed Morocco’s fruitful cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner and the United Nations human rights.
During an on ligne meeting with the United Nations Human Rights Council’s support group for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom, in which 15 ambassadors, a number of assistants of permanent representatives and experts in charge of human rights issues at the permanent missions of the member states of the group in Geneva, Mrs. Bashlet expressed her desire to strengthen this cooperation And its gratitude to Morocco for its tangible contribution to the works and activities of the Human Rights Council.
Regarding the case of the Kingdom’s territorial integrity, Ms. Bashlet acknowledged the political nature of the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, which is being dealt with under the auspices of the Security Council.

Moreover, the UN official announced that their office and the various tasks assigned to it had received several complaints of human rights violations in the Tindouf camps, especially the suppression of opponents of separatist leaders, the denial of the right of movement, the recruitment of children into military militias, and the prevention of movement outside the camps.

The UN official confirmed in the meeting the constant and firm support of the member states of this group for the territorial integrity of Morocco, and the measures taken by the Kingdom in response to the provocations of the armed militias of “Polisario”, with the support of Algeria.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to express, once again, this group’s rejection of Algeria’s procrastination maneuvers and its exploitation of human rights for political propaganda, through the alliance with a group of countries known for gross human rights violations.

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Morocco announced the decision to run for a seat in the United Nations Human Rights Council for 2023-2025 term, supported by the African Union, the League of Arab States and a number of other regional groupings.

Boubacar Larco, president of the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights, says that the 2011 constitution responded positively to many of the human rights demands that the human rights movement fought for in Morocco, and this is considered a fundamental breakthrough in human rights field.

Morocco has joined the global human rights suit by ratifying some international conventions and related protocols. The government has also submitted its official periodic reports on contractual agreements and the universal periodic review. Moreover, the Ministry of Human Rights in Morocco presented the achievements made in this field in the period 2012-2019.

On the other hand, the human rights movement, including the National Council for Human Rights, has submitted its parallel reports to government reports and its annual reports on the human rights situation in the Kingdom of Morocco.

The president of the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights stated that through an extrapolation of facts, and human rights recommendations, it is concluded that there is a strong dynamic for establishing a state based on human rights and laws, but he notices some delay in the ratification of some structuring laws to be conformed to the constitutional requirements and international conventions approved by Morocco, and be up to the level the human rights gains that Morocco has been accumulating.

“I particularly mention here the delay in ratifying the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Criminal Code, law adequacy for associations and demonstration, the approval of the National Action Plan in the Field of Democracy and Human Rights. This delay reflects negatively on the reality of human rights gains in Morocco, creating contradictory views and different assessments about human rights situation among all intervenes.”, explained the head of the organization.

The importance of the decision to run for membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council lies in the fact that Morocco is continuing to promote human rights standards with full commitment, and acknowledgment of the role of this mechanism in front of the world, as well as to its citizens of Morocco, especially since UNHRC seat requires such responsibilities and commitments.

The UNHRC is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights in all parts of the world.

The council has the power to discuss all human rights issues and cases that require the council’s attention throughout the year. It holds its meetings at the United Nations office in Geneva.

“The Human Rights Council is composed of 47 member states, elected by a majority of the members of the United Nations General Assembly by direct and secret ballot. The General Assembly takes into account the contributions of the candidate countries to the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as their voluntary commitments and obligations in this regard, the term of the council’s members is three years, and it is forbidden to re-elect a member after 2 consecutive terms. Morocco has previously been elected to this council for two consecutive terms”, The president Boubacar details the role of the Human Rights Council and how its members are elected.

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The Kingdom of Morocco will participate in the 46th session of the Human Rights Council, which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 22 February to 20 March 2021.

The Ministry of Human Rights and Relations with Parliament stated that this session will be marked by the participation of the Minister responsible for Human Rights and Relations with Parliament, Mustafa Ramid, at a high-level meeting, the Minister will deliver a speech via video conference to examine the results of the protection and promotion of human rights in Morocco as well as the efforts made to deal with the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic in Morocco.

The statement added that Morocco, in addition to this HRC session, will hold a parallel meeting on the theme “Achieving human rights convergence and sustainable development, shared experience, good practice”.

The same source stated that the Kingdom of Morocco, in the context of the reform in which the United Nations is participating in improving the work of the Human Council, is organizing a second meeting on the subject of “responses from countries with the specific procedures, best experiences and challenges”.

These two meetings will be held with the participation of UN experts and representatives of Moroccan national institutions.

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The Human Rights Council in Morocco (CNDH), in partnership with the European Union and the Council of Europe, has launched a special program called “Supporting the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in Morocco” which will be implemented over a period of 36 months.

The program, a result of tight  tripartite cooperation, aims to boost the capabilities of the national mechanism staff, through theoretic and procedural training, exchange of experiences through visits to torture prevention mechanisms in Europe, in addition to participating in various national and international activities as well as improving the working methods of the national  mechanism.

The President of the National Council for Human Rights, Amina Bouayach, said in an opening speech, that the project came out according to an inclusive, consultative, participatory approach, consisting in the firm commitment of the National Council to cooperate with all  contributors within this approach framework, praising all the collective initiatives of CNDH with the European Union and the Council of Europe in the prevention of torture.

She also stressed that Morocco’s establishing a national mechanism for the prevention of torture in September 2019 came out as a result of implementing the Equity and Reconciliation Commission recommendations, and  as an execution of the Optional Protocol of the convention against Torture, all this confirms that Morocco is sincerely committed to the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhumane and degrading behaviors.

The Moroccan human rights council official announced that, since April 2020, the National Mechanism for the Prevention of torture(NPM), has carried out 11 visits to prison institutions, centers for the protection of children and the elderly, detention centers belonging to national security and royal gendarmerie in Rabat, Casablanca, Tetouan, Tangiers, Settat, and Dakhla, adding that there are new upcoming visits to other cities.

The president  of CNDH did not forget to mention the compulsions faced by the NPM in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We were compelled to devise tools that adapted to the pandemic situation, through ensuring the mechanism’s functions have continued effectively during our visits, by giving priority to monitoring preventive measures against COVID-19 in all centers, deprivation of liberty, in accordance with  the directives of SPT (Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture)” , CNDH President, Amina Bouayach added.

Bouayach concluded her speech by underlining that the Moroccan Parliament has chosen the CNDH to manage the functions of the NPM to enhance the effectiveness of the mechanism so that it can fully perform its duties of protection from torture and other cruel and degrading human rights violations. Mohamed Benajiba, the Coordinator of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, reviewed the stages of establishing and setting up of mechanism, within the CNDH, he considered that the law of reorganizing the council will give the mechanism all reassurances to carry out its tasks and roles in the best way, in appropriate conditions, and in full respect of  Optional Protocol terms of the Convention against Torture, as well as the recommendations of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT).

The Coordinator emphasized that the existence of the mechanism within the structures of the National Council for Human Rights will enable it to benefit from the CNDH’s resources and expertise. He further discussed the current context of the mechanism’s work in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, noting the importance of supporting the project of the mechanism, which will enhance the performance of its mission and contribute to improving the conditions of inmates in liberty deprivation centers.

It is worth noting that the Opening session of web meeting, during which the official launch of the program was given, marked by the participation of a group of human rights figures from Europe, namely:

Verena Tyler, Office Director of the General Directorate of Programs (Council of Europe)

Alessio Cappellani, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Morocco.

Christos Giacambulos, Director General of Human Rights and the Rule of Law (Council of Europe, Strasbourg).

After that, a web meeting has taken place with experts discussing the coming challenges and expectations of the national mechanism for the prevention of torture, the web meeting was led by Mohamed Ayat, head of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance, with the participation of Abdallah Ounnir, a member of the United Nation Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture.

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