Source: http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/conferences/hrc2006/four/hrc070315pm1-eng.rm?start=01:58:06&end=02:03:18

Human Rights Council, Fourth Session
March 15, 2007
Introduction of progress reports from the institution–building

Morocco

Thank you, President.  First and foremost allow me to thank the distinguished facilitators for their presentation of their updates, and their documents, and discussions, consultations to establish the different processes of the human rights system.  I would like to thank them before they revised non-papers.  We are delighted that all of these documents are to be distributed in all of the working languages of the United Nations which would allow the full contribution of all in the debates.  Our delegation feels that this exercise is particularly important, and this is why from the very outset we have committed ourselves to working in the spirit of cooperation and consultation to, we hope, achieve consensus-based results which will be up to the expectations of the international community before the deadlines fixed by the General Assembly, that is the 18th of June.  We subscribe to the statements made by the OIC and the NAM but would also like to add a few points.

On the review of special procedures, this process should lead, according to Resolution 60/251, to strengthening the current system, but also to rectifying a few shortcomings which sometimes have had a negative impact on the implementation of mandates and on direction and cooperation of member states of the UN.  The mandate holders must be selected on the basis of their competence, their professionalism, expertise, impartiality, objectivity, and integrity so that they reflect the different cultures, civilizations, and legal systems which are the strength and a specific advantage of the United Nations system, and the mandates holders must be chosen on the basis of equitable geographical representation on the basis of gender representation and we believe that an election would be the best way to select mandate holders.  We are open then to discuss all procedures for a selection of mandate holders which would include elections.  It’s vital that we ensure a balance between the political, civil, economic, cultural, and social rights and international solidarity is a main principle for the United Nations and the special procedures process must reflect that important aspect. And the mandate that the Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 1967 should be maintained until the end of the Israeli occupation as is stipulated in the relevant resolutions of the Human Rights Council.  The methods of work and way of interaction between the different mandate holders and the council must be very clear.  The reports must just be presented to the bodies that these are attached to and the Human Rights Council must continue to support all of the special procedures without any distinction and there should be a code of conduct established.  This code of conduct should allow us to improve the role of special procedures to enhance their input into our work and to allow them to fulfill their mandates fully according to the principles of objectivity and independence and impartiality.  Then under 1503 procedure the roles and objectives of the complaint procedure identifying systematic grave violations of human rights are key violations which must be addressed.  And so the complaints mechanism must be based on the mandate and avoid any duplication of work with the other procedures.  Confidentiality is a keystone of this procedure and this has been proven when we look at the high number of responses to 1503, complaints of member states.  The confidential nature of the procedure must therefore be maintained.  The admissibility criteria and procedures must be strengthened and these must all be respected by the Secretariat and the first working group.  We believe that as with 1503, the complaint mechanism should have two steps.  First, one with experts from the advisory board of experts and then the second working group comprised of members of the human rights council on the basis of equitable geographical distribution.  And on the expert advisory board, we believe that this should be a body which makes its expertise available to the Council which should take part in developing international human rights protection standards and this body could have the same kind of ownership as the sub-commission it should have available to it all of the criteria for independence and the members should be elected by the human rights council on the basis of equitable geographical representation.  And then on the draft agenda on the working methods, we support the draft agenda presented by NAM and the African working group and the OIC and we believe that this would offer the flexibility necessary for the council to look at questions into the promotion and protection of human rights dealing full rights on an equal basis and we believe that the question of Palestine and other occupied Arab territories should be on the agenda.  For clear reasons, my delegation will not comment on the UPR.  Of course, Morocco believes that this is a very important and we believe that it would effectively contribute to improve the situation of human rights and protection in conformity with resolution 6251 of the UN GA.  Thank you, Chairman.