The delegation stresses, in a release, that the report provides new proof as to the legitimacy of the criticisms that the Moroccan authorities had made on the working methodology of AI in the sense that its reports on the situation of human rights in Morocco lack objectivity. These reports contain false accusations and baseless allegations, the delegation explained.
This observation, it emphasizes, demonstrates once again that AI relies on unilateral versions of the facts which only reflect the point of view of the rapporteurs and their sources, deliberately ignoring the achievements of the Kingdom in the field of human rights.
While taking note of the fact that Amnesty International continues to disregard the principle of neutrality by conveying a hostile political position reporting human rights violations in the southern provinces of the Kingdom, the Moroccan authorities recall that Minurso is a mission of the United Nations in charge of maintaining peace and monitoring the ceasefire, in accordance with resolution 2548, which is part of Chapter VI of the UN Charter.
It is part of the so-called "first generation" missions, without having a human rights monitoring mandate in the absence of a specific situation which would imply the adoption of such measures.
In addition, AI ignores the reports of the Security Council and the UN human rights system, which have consistently praised the role played by the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) and its committees in the southern provinces, as well as by the Ombudsman Institution and its delegation in this region with regard to the protection and promotion of human rights, the delegation underlines.
The Moroccan authorities are astonished by the assessment that AI has tried to convey on the application of the state of health emergency, while the report deals with an exceptional period which has constrained all the countries of the world, including Morocco, to take the necessary preventive measures to curb the spread of the pandemic while preserving fundamental rights and freedoms without restricting them as claimed by AI, the source said.
Limiting some rights in order to preserve supreme rights is a legitimate act under international human rights charters and standards.
The Moroccan authorities further note that the individuals who are the subject of the Organization's allegations have been prosecuted for their alleged involvement in criminal acts relating to common law cases, the delegation pointed out, adding that the quality or the activity of some of them does not provide them with any immunity.
Thus, the Organization's conclusions and interpretations on this matter are similar to attempts to influence the work of an independent authority.
This orientation is confirmed by the fact that Amnesty International is insisting on a particular case, although the competent authorities have provided it with all the explanatory data on this subject which is still under a judicial investigation.
The Moroccan authorities also stress that the Organization's allegations concerning the situation of some detainees are completely unfounded, especially since the report does not present sufficient facts and reliable data which contain evidence and indications justifying the recommendations made by AI.
The authorities urge the organization to abandon its double standards policy when it deals, in a "timid" manner, with the human rights situation of Moroccans held against their will in Tindouf in Algeria, noting that this report only points at the continued inaction of the "polisario" in relation to those responsible for human rights violations in the camps over the past decades.
This report only mentioned one case of violation without worrying about the daily violations of human rights and the deplorable reality endured by the population of the camps because of the kidnapping and the diversion of human aid, the release said, noting that AI should have included the aspect of serious human rights violations in the camps in the section of the report devoted to Algeria since it is the State responsible for these violations which have been reported by the various UN human rights mechanisms.
The Moroccan authorities call on AI to review its method of dealing with the human rights situation in Morocco and welcome the objective reports of non-governmental organizations which reflect a realistic image and are intended to be a serious collaboration in the consolidation and promotion of human rights in the Kingdom, the delegation concludes.