ICJ submission to the Committee against Torture on the examination of the fourth periodic report of Morocco

Oct 14, 2011

In this submission, the ICJ highlights the failure of the Moroccan authorities to comply with the Committee’s previous recommendations.

During its 47th session on 31 October to 25 November 2011, the UN Committee against Torture will undertake an examination of the fourth periodic report of the Kingdom of Morocco. In preparation for this examination, and in response to Morocco’s combined report, the Committee issued a list of issues to be considered during the forthcoming examination. The ICJ has submitted a parallel report to the Committee against Torture, which includes replies to aspects of some questions in the Committee’s list of issues, and sets out concrete recommendations for Morocco’s implementation of obligations under the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The ICJ’s submission focusses in this respect on three thematic areas: (i) torture under the Moroccan legal framework; (ii) torture and ill-treatment in the context of the United States-proclaimed “war on terror” and United States-led “secret renditions” program; and (iii) torture and ill-treatment in the context of combating “terrorism” in Morocco.