For some time Morocco has been at the epicentre of improvement in human rights in the Arab world - now its influence is spreading across the Maghreb with human rights groups establising a joint body.
The news today that human rights organisations from the five-nation Arab Maghreb Union have for the first time established a body to coordinate support for victims of government repression, is another step in the right direction.
Fourteen groups from Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia formed the Maghreb Coordination for Human Rights Organisation to expand "respect of human rights in Maghreb". According to Sihame Bensedrine, a leading Tunisian rights activist... "We see the Coordination as part of a drive to build an actual solidarity between rights activists in Maghreb and achieve a dream of living in a region where the rights of citizens are fully respected."
The groups said it was time for them to join forces, arguing that a home-grown movement with local support might be more effective in bringing pressure on Maghreb governments than Western organisations with international support. It is the first time Maghreb rights activists have set up such a broad-based effort to organise their joint struggle.
They noted respect of human rights was improving in Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco. But they cited problems in Libya and Tunisia where, unlike Morocco, human rights activists were harassed and press freedoms stifled.
Tags: Morocco Fes Maghreb news
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