Equity and Reconciliation Commission
Encyclopedia
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
Instance Equité et Réconciliation - IER) is a Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
human rights and truth commission
Truth commission
A truth commission or truth and reconciliation commission is a commission tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government , in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past...
created on January 7, 2004 by King Mohammed VI in order to reconcile victims of human rights abuses, such as torture and atrocities committed by Makhzen
Makhzen
Makhzen is the governing elite in Morocco and in pre-1957 Tunisia, centered around the king and consisting of royal notables, businessmen, wealthy landowners, tribal leaders, top-ranking military personnel, security service bosses, and other well-connected members of the...
(the governing elite) during the Years of lead
Years of Lead (Morocco)
The Years of Lead is the term used especially by former opponents to the rule of King Hassan II of Morocco to describe a period of his rule marked by state violence against dissidents and democracy activists.-Timeframe:...
, with the State.
IER is composed of a president and 16 members of various institutions and establishments, half of them from CCDH
Conseil Consultatif des Droits de l'Homme
Conseil Consultatif des Droits de l’Homme is a Moroccan governmental human rights body founded by late King Hassan II of Morocco by a royal decree in 1990....
. The proclaimed objectives of the commission are the protection and the promotion of the human rights in Morocco
Human rights in Morocco
Morocco’s human rights record is mixed. On the one hand, Morocco has made considerable improvements since the repressive Years of Lead under King Hassan II's reign , but under his modernizing son, Mohammed VI, there are still complaints about abuses of power.This article deals with Morocco and not...
.
IER aim is to rehabilitate the victims, and pay compensation for state outrages against them. This has been hailed internationally as a big step forward, and an example to the Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
.
However, the IER has also come under attack from parts of the human rights-community, since:
- its mission is not to reveal the identities of or prosecute human rights offenders, which most of the victims were requesting.;
- it is not allowed to mention Mohammed's predecessor, King Hassan II;
- it is not allowed to report about human rights violations since 1999, when Mohammed VI was enthroned.
- it cannot criticize the violation of freedom of speech, which according to human rights organisations still exists in Morocco.
The IER completed its mandate by delivering its final report to the King of Morocco in December 2005.
Amnesty International has published a detailed critique of the work of the Commission and its follow-up.