Human rights development in Morocco : a new era?

Abstract

Since the death of King Hassan II and the accession of his son Mohammad VI, human rights has become a very important and highly visible subject in Morocco. This paper has two basic purposes. First, I will examine briefly what has been happening in Morocco over the past year or so with respect to the development of human rights. Second, I will attempt to analyse the current reform agenda, both with respect to the government's sincerity and extent of commitment, and with respect to the limits of its viability in practical terms, by considering the influences which have contributed to shaping the process and by looking briefly at the potential ramifications of attempting to introduce what is effectively a Western-derived corpus of human rights into the Moroccan political, economic and social contexts.