Moroccan Candidate Elected in UN Committee against Torture

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Morocco’s candidate, Abderrazak Rouwane, has been elected to one of the five vacant seats of the United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) for the period 2022-2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad announced on Monday. In competition with ten other candidates, the Moroccan candidacy received 93 votes thanks to a significant mobilization of the entire diplomatic apparatus, the ministry specified in a statement. This vote took place on Monday in Geneva, during the 18th Meeting of States parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the statement said. The Moroccan candidacy’s success testifies to the confidence and credibility that the Kingdom enjoys within the international community and the importance of its role in the protection, respect and promotion of human rights. This is the 7th election of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations’ human rights bodies in the last two years. The country is present in seven UN human rights treaty bodies, the ministry underlined. The Kingdom of Morocco has long been committed to strengthening and promoting human rights, under the leadership of His Majesty the King, by initiating a long process aimed at updating its legal arsenal and creating national institutions working for the protection of human rights and the prevention of any form of torture or inhuman treatment. The Kingdom of Morocco signed the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on January 18, 1986 and ratified it on June 21, 1993, the same source recalled. The Committee against Torture is the body that monitors the implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted on 10 December 1984. It is composed of 10 independent experts “of high moral standing and recognized competence in the field of human rights”. Mr. Abderrazak Rouwane, who has the necessary experience and competence in the field of Human Rights, has a great knowledge of legal and universal systems in this field. During his professional career, he held the position of Secretary General of the Interministerial Delegation for Human Rights and was elected, on November 28, 2020 in Niamey, Member of the Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the statement said.