The issue of human rights in Morocco is of great importance and is attracting national and international attention. the human rights situation in our country has experienced a kind of oscillation between successes and setbacks, through which Morocco has made important political gains in terms of successes, since it launched the path of equity and reconciliation to end the so-called “embers and bullets” years and the announcement of a constitutional amendment in 2011, followed by several measures and reforms based on rights and freedoms separation of powers, independence of the judiciary, establishment of conditions for a fair trial, reform of the penal code, the press and media code and the ratification of several binding international agreements related to the field of freedoms and public rights, but all these reforms are still affected by some shortcomings at the procedural level so they lack boldness in their effective implementation at the institutional level.

These accumulations, these achievements in the field of human rights and even some “regressive” setbacks in the form of “apostasy of human rights” do not give the right to a European parliamentary institution to interfere blatantly in the judicial sovereignty of a state with institutions, which imposes on us, as researchers and interested parties the need to comment on the deviations of this parliamentary institution, which has not succeeded at all in discussing the file of human rights in Morocco, in total contradiction with its previous warnings regarding this file, because this time we were assured that the institution of the European Parliament is a controlled institution.

In this regard, on Thursday, January 19, 2023, a session of the European Parliament was held in Brussels to vote a resolution condemning the human rights situation in Morocco, especially the file of detained journalists, and the result of the vote was 356 votes against, 32 votes no and 42 abstentions from voting, although this result seems at first glance shocking to us as trackers and analysts, but after examining its causes, merits and circumstances, we understand well what this result is, its political nature and how it was teleguided by a set of maneuvers the hostility that was exposed and displayed to the international community, although as an academic researcher I admit that Morocco is not a human rights paradise, but it is trying to build its democracy and state The European Parliament itself applauded the prospect of becoming a leading country, despite the existence of many constraints and obstacles that the article does not have the space to address .

The text of the European resolution put to the vote stresses “the need for the Moroccan authorities to respect freedom of expression and freedom of the media” and “to ensure fair trials for detained journalists, away from fabricated sexual accusations.

The parliamentary statement focused on three cases that its drafters are familiar with and that are receiving a lot of attention from national and international public opinion, namely Taoufik Bouachrine, the former director of the newspaper Akhbar Al-Youm, who was sentenced to 15 years, then Omar Radi, an investigative journalist who was sentenced to six years for espionage and rape, and Soulaimane Raissouni, who was the director of the newspaper Akhbar Al-Youm and was sentenced to five years for attempted rape. The recommendation covered the rest of the detainees, including those from the Rural Movement, led by Nasser Zefzafi.

The European Parliament’s vote in Morocco was accompanied by reactions of condemnation from official and unofficial organizations, although in my opinion, I would have preferred that the reaction remained limited to the Maghreb Arab Press Agency and the official public television because Moroccan diplomacy under the leadership of King Mohammed VI has become mature and I think that there is no need to displace the Moroccan parliament, which should focus on internal affairs, development and legislative, through which it can serve human rights issues .

As for the High Council of the Judiciary, we are a sovereign state, and the European Parliament is a “flock of sheep” controlled by France at will, especially since the exit of Britain, the weakness of Germany, and the rise of the far right in Italy, and in any case it remains an institution of an advisory nature that does not affect European decision-making and has no binding legal effect, which takes political, diplomatic, security and economic decisions is the EU High Commission, and I think the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell was in Morocco a few days ago and Nasser Bourita did his duty with him calmly, while the European Commission expressed its desire to consolidate the Moroccan-European partnership .

So there are other things and other lobbies that push the European Parliament to take such “folkloric” positions at this moment, and there I would almost say that the policy led by the European Parliament controlled by France is the policy of gas and interests, if there was any credibility for this parliament on the issue of human rights; I would condemn in this manufactured vote Algeria, where 47 journalists and nearly 3000 political and human rights activists are languishing in El Harrach prison, in addition to the thousands of prisoners of conscience since the outbreak of the movement, which would have led to the collapse of the regime if the movement had not stopped under the pretext of the covid-19 and the knitted electoral farce, this would not have happened.

If the EU Parliament cared about democracy, it would condemn Tunisian President Kais Saied, who staged a political coup and worked to restrict public freedoms, including freedom of the press, then classify the Polisario as a terrorist organization for its destabilization of regional stability and peace in the North African, Sahel and Sahara regions, then condemn Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for what he has committed against the Syrian people and others . The European Parliament should have held a session to pass a resolution against France regarding its failure to fulfill its human rights obligations, especially the violation of the “right to life”.  Where 38 children from France are still in camps in Syria, especially after being condemned by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and what France is committing against France itself, which suppressed the movement of the Yellow Vests organization and what it is committing as crimes of exploitation and plundering of the wealth of the African and Maghreb peoples, This is the reality that the MEPs should have discussed .

Therefore, I see from my perspective that I do not pretend to give official attention to the vote of the European Parliament, because I think that official reactions may not serve Moroccan interests in the medium and long term and Morocco’s diplomacy is our return that it does not respond to Trump’s diplomacy, especially since we know that France uses the European institutions to strike at the interests of Morocco, or to pressure him for more serious reasons that must be taken into account in this proxy war that France is waging in its crisis with Morocco.

The European Parliament’s vote is not only aimed at the Moroccan rights issue, but also at the institutions and works to discredit Morocco for its advances in the Moroccan Sahara issue, including its alliance with major powers such as the United States of America, The return of diplomatic relations with Israel, its win-win approach with Russia, China and India, and its economic orientation towards the countries of the South, which France and its affiliates do not want because they know that Morocco is no longer controlled and that the rational policy it is pursuing has become uncontrollable

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The Kingdom of Morocco, through its king, government, and people, strongly condemned the heinous attack carried out by the Houthi militia and its supporters on the Musaffah region and the Abu Dhabi airport in the United Arab Emirates on Monday.

https://twitter.com/MarocDiplomatie/status/1483166417109274632?t=kNm4yCelk06pmF29eaZoww&s=08

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccans Abroad, the Kingdom strongly condemned the attack, which targeted civilians, and expressed full solidarity with the brotherly State of the United Arab Emirates in defending the security of its territories and the safety of its citizens.

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Colombia and Moroccounderlined the similarities in their visions of a migration strategy that protects migrants’ fundamental rights and ensures their dignity on Thursday in Rabat.

“Colombia and Morocco converge in their vision of a migration policy that safeguards the legitimate rights of migrants and guarantees their dignity,” said the joint statement following talks between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, and the Vice-President and Minister of External Relations of Colombia, Marta Lucia Ramirez.

According to the joint statement, Bourita and Ramirez agreed, given the impact of the migration phenomenon that “it represents a real challenge for the international community.”

In this context and concerning the crisis in Venezuela, Bourita “welcomed the extensive work carried out by Colombia to address the humanitarian situation resulting from the large number of Venezuelan migrants arriving in the country,” emphasizing the significance of Colombia giving Temporary Protection Status to Venezuelan migrants and issuing the Temporary Protection Card.

Herefore, Bourita reaffirmed Morocco’s support for Colombia’s “Peace with Legality” policy, as directed by President Ivan Duque Márquez, and the numerous stabilization initiatives undertaken by Colombia in the fulfillment of peace treaties.

He praised President lván Duque Márquez and his government’s efforts in the areas of peace and legality, as well as the development of conditions in the country’s regions and the impact of these actions on stability and perception, according to the joint statement.

Bourita also praised the decision announced by the International Criminal Court’s Prosecutor General to close the preliminary file on Colombia.

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