VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRB #0714/01 2311651
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191651Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0586
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS RABAT 000714 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR H, DRL/NESCA, NEA/RA AND NEA/MAG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OREP PHUM PGOV SOCI KWMN KPAO MO
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS SCENESETTER FOR STAFFDEL HOGREFE 
 
REF: STATE 084631 (NOTAL) 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Morocco is a country in the throes of 
change and reform, particularly with respect to human rights. 
 King Mohammed VI has embarked on an ambitious and continuous 
program of human rights reform that includes greater 
political rights and participation by women, the Arab World's 
first truth commission, a revised family code, and growing 
electoral transparency and government accountability. 
Freedom of the press has expanded, but there are still some 
restrictions, and those who challenge them can suffer heavy 
fines, libel judgments and more 
rarely, jail.  Political freedoms have grown as well, but 
divergence from the Government of Morocco's (GOM's) position 
on the Western Sahara, or questioning the legitimacy of 
monarchy or the Malekite rite of Sunni Islam, remain off 
limits.  The observance of human rights by the Moroccan 
authorities in the Western Sahara is the same as in the rest 
of Morocco.  Despite some setbacks, Morocco is a leader of 
reform in the region, and continued support and encouragement 
from partners like the United States is essential.  End 
Summary. 
 
-------------- 
Women's Rights 
-------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Underscoring Morocco's regional leadership in this 
sphere, the King has made the advancement of women's rights a 
priority, calling it "the cornerstone" of Morocco's strategy 
of building a modern democratic society.  As a result of 
support from the Palace and USAID, Morocco now has more 
elected women officials than any other Arab country and has 
dramatically increased the visibility of women as leaders and 
policy makers. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Following an agreement between the GOM and the 
political parties, 12 percent of the seats (approximately 
3,000 elected positions) in June's municipal council 
elections were reserved for women.  More than 20,000 women 
ran for office, 20 percent of whom received campaign training 
from a Middle East Partnership Initiative- (MEPI-) sponsored 
project.  Approximately 3,400 women won seats, a dozen of 
whom were later elected to chair local councils, making them 
mayors or mayor equivalents.  Prior to the June elections, 
women held less than 0.5 percent of elected positions and 
only two women had served as mayors. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The GOM has also enhanced legal protections for 
women, particularly through bold revisions to the Moudawana 
or family law code in 2004.  In 2007, the King instituted 
training for women to act as spiritual guides, and they now 
represent more than one-fourth of Morocco's religious cadre. 
These female religious leaders help raise women's awareness 
of their rights, and promote a moderate, inclusive Islam. 
 
------------------------------- 
Elections and Political Parties 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Despite the relative transparency of the June 12 
communal elections, the subsequent intra-council election of 
city and communal council leaders (mayors) was, according to 
press reports, marred by interference by a political party 
and the Palace.  The Party of Authenticity and Modernity 
(PAM) reportedly used extra-political pressure tactics, 
including invoking the name of King Mohammed VI, to pressure 
other parties into withdrawing from alliances with the 
Islamist-oriented Party of Justice and Development (PJD). 
Press reports charge that the Palace intervened in several 
areas to keep the PJD from controlling major cities, for 
example Casablanca and Tangier, while allowing them to run 
second-tier cites, such as Kenitra and Tetouan.  According to 
press reports, Palace interference was most blatant in the 
city of Oujda, where the local governor blocked a vote that 
would have produced a PJD-lead coalition in late June. 
National Police, with complicity from the PAM, reportedly 
intimidated PJD coalition supporters and beat into a coma a 
local PJD leader, who has since recovered. 
 
----------------- 
Religious Freedom 
----------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Moroccan Constitution provides for the freedom 
to practice one's religion, although Islam is the official 
state religion.  The GOM prohibits distribution of non-Muslim 
religious materials and bans all proselytizing.  It also 
occasionally restricts Islamic activities that it considers 
to have exceeded the bounds of "acceptable religious 
practice" and become "political in nature," as was the case 
with the crackdown on Shi'a activism this year.  Morocco has 
become protective and even positive toward the tiny remnant 
of its once substantial Jewish minority, who now number 3,000 
) 4,000. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In March, following its severing of relations with 
Iran, the Government launched an officially sanctioned 
pressure campaign against Shi'a in Morocco, seizing Shi'ite 
tracts from bookstores and libraries, and mobilizing imams to 
preach against Shi'ite influences.  Approximately 15 leaders 
of Shi'a associations were questioned by police but then 
released without charges.  The Ministry of National Education 
shut down a private Iraqi school following allegations that 
the school was teaching Shi'ite principles. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) In April, Moroccan authorities expelled five 
expatriate female Christian missionaries from the country for 
proselytizing and for their involvement in leading a regular 
women's Bible study group in Casablanca.  The Moroccan women 
in the study group were taken to the local police station, 
then released without charges.  The police were responding to 
an unrelated complaint from a neighbor and appear not to have 
been specifically targeting the meeting.  This was the first 
time in more than four years that Morocco had publicly 
expelled missionaries. 
 
--------------------- 
Freedom of Expression 
--------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Although Morocco has allowed increasing freedom of 
expression on many issues, divergence from the GOM's position 
on the Western Sahara or questioning the legitimacy of the 
monarchy or the Malekite rite of Sunni Islam remain off 
limits.  On August 1, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) 
seized editions of two influential weekly news magazines for 
publishing an opinion poll on the King's first decade in 
power, even though the poll in question showed 91 percent 
support for the King.  The Ministry also banned import of an 
edition of French daily "Le Monde" that also published the 
results.  To justify its action, the MOI cited Morocco's 1958 
press code, which allows seizure of publications that violate 
public order or violate respect for the royal family or 
Islam.  The Moroccan independent press has united in a strong 
reaction against the Ministry's action.  Morocco is in the 
process of reforming its press code, but the process has been 
slow. 
 
------- 
Torture 
------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Morocco has sought to actively address past human 
rights abuses, including torture, with the goal of preventing 
future violence and restoring dignity to victims.  Overall 
reported incidents of torture have decreased.  However, there 
were some reports that security forces abused individuals, 
particularly during transport and pre-trial detention.  Human 
rights NGOs have led the campaign against torture, recently 
creating a new group to monitor the country for torture 
practices, and to assist and rehabilitate victims.  The 
Consultative Council for Human Rights (CCDH), a 
quasi-governmental body, serves as the official clearing 
house for complaints.  The CCDH, along with NGOs, is lobbying 
for the ratification of the Optional Protocol on the UN 
Convention against Torture and encouraging government 
agencies to comply.  Anti-torture reforms undertaken in 2006 
criminalized abuse of prisoners and require an investigation 
of abuse when any prisoner exhibits injuries.  Such reforms 
represent a step forward but have not been applied 
consistently. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Issues 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) According to gay rights activists, Morocco is more 
liberal than many of its neighbors on the issue of 
homosexuality, with increasing acceptance by the government 
and press.  However, homosexuality continues to be illegal 
under the Moroccan penal code and may be punished by between 
6 months and 3 years in prison, although this is rarely 
enforced.  In March, a highly publicized gay rights campaign 
prompted a series of protests by Islamists, which triggered a 
limited but high-profile crackdown.  Authorities arrested 17 
men on suspicion of homosexuality, all of whom have since 
been released. 
 
-------------- 
Western Sahara 
-------------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The human rights situation in the Western Sahara 
continues to stabilize, with a reduction in serious 
violations and some increases in political openness.  Known 
police abusers have been transferred out of the territory and 
those left behind increasingly respect human rights 
standards.  Harassment of some independence activists 
continue but appears limited to administrative difficulties, 
rather than physical abuse.  In general, the observance of 
human rights by authorities in the Western Sahara is 
equivalent to that in the rest of Morocco. 
 
 
***************************************** 
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Moro cco 
***************************************** 
 
Jackson