Moroccan parliamentary network against the death penalty is launched

The first Moroccan parliamentary network against the death penalty, which was initiated at the Regional Congress Against the Death Penalty organised by ECPM in Rabat in October 2012, held its founding general meeting on February 26, 2013. The founding members gathered at the house of parliament in Rabat around the theme “Legislative power as a fundamental actor to protect the right to life”.

Around 40 members of both houses of parliament belonging to various political parties and groupings attended the general meeting, as well as representatives from the Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty.

The participants debated the network’s objectives and missions and adopted its founding charter, which has so far been signed by 167 members of parliament. They also elected a seven-member executive.

One of the network’s goals is to encourage parliament to play its role in the safeguarding and promotion of human rights, especially the right to life, which is protected by international conventions as well as articles 20 and 22 of the Moroccan Constitution.

The network will act at the national, regional and international levels to achieve the following objectives:

• adopt legislation to abolish the death penalty in Morocco;
• push Morocco to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the abolition of the death penalty;
• officialise the moratorium on executions observed by Morocco since 1993;
• enforce constitutional provisions on the protection of the right to life and the ban on torture and all cruel, inhuman or degrading treatments;
• reform Moroccan criminal law with a view to implement a human and educational criminal and repressive policy;
• work towards the improvement of detention conditions on death row;
• support all efforts aiming to abolish capital punishment, especially those of the Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty.