Truth Commission Findings.

There has been wide coverage in the world media of the Moroccan Equity and Reconciliation Commission. One thing that almost all reports have failed to point out is that such commissions are a rarity and that Morocco and King Mohammed VI is to be congratulated on taking a brave step towards truth and transparency.

The tasked of investigating more than four decades of human rights abuses in Morocco runs the danger of awakening old wounds and raising ghosts from the past. Yet, Morocco has gone down this path and in doing so uncovered nearly 600 disappearances and the deaths of about 500 people during street riots or while in police custody.


Driss Benzekri, chairman of the Commission
The commission is not only a rarity worldwide, but notable as the first of its kind in the Arab world. And it appears to have tackled the task without fear or favour. Already it has called for a major reform of the country's judicial and security sectors, along with constitutional guarantees of human rights, presumption of innocence, and fair, open trials. This is brave stuff. And don't expect it anytime soon in Iran, Iraq or Saudi.

The findings of the two-year investigation were submitted to King Mohammed VI, who established the Equity and Reconciliation Commission to examine alleged abuses during the reign of his father, King Hassan II.

The commission has no mandate to punish perpetrators or to name them. Human rights activists and some Moroccans have criticized that policy, but commission members argue that naming perpetrators violates their rights.

The Equity and Reconciliation Commission has recommended compensation for 9,280 victims of various human rights abuses over the decades or which some 1499 victims had already received compensation between 1999 and 2003.

The criticism, by the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, centres on their claim that the commission should have openly named the perpetrators. The group does have a list of those it wants prosecuted. They also question the figures provided by the commission and say that the number of victims is much higher. While this is possibly true, the commission and the King should be given the chance to present their findings and then move on to the next step. It is a difficult road that Morocco has headed down and they should be encouraged to continue - one step at a time.

See our update here: THE VIEW FROM FES: Breaking News - Truth Commission,Public Release Possible.

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