UK hails Morocco on political reforms

A yearly Foreign Office report on human rights in the world hailed Morocco on the political reform process, noting that the north African kingdom is one of the most performing countries of the European neighborhood in this field.
Ukraine and Morocco are judged the best performers across the European neighbourhood in terms of political reforms, the 2007 report said, adding that the two countries were the first to benefit from the Governance Facility in 2007.
Morocco's achievements included implementation of new legislation on political parties; (...) the lifting of reservations against international conventions, in particular on racial discrimination, children’s rights and torture; new legislation on torture; more emphasis on minority rights; and changes to legislation on freedom of association, leading to a more active civil society, the report read.
Morocco also signed a co-operation agreement with the UNHCR covering all of the UNHCR’s humanitarian work in Morocco, the document recalled, affirming that UK “welcomed these achievements, and will continue to work with the European Commission to improve the Governance Facility so that the incentive for reform is maximised.”
The Governance Facility is worth 320 million euros over 2007-13, and aims at supporting and encouraging countries that made the most outstanding progress in the field of good governance, the report said.
The Foreign Office also hailed cooperation with Morocco in the field of human rights, citing the example of the partnership established in 2005 between the Moroccan Prison Service and the International Centre for Prison Studies.
HAMID BENBELL, TUESDAY,APRIL 1st,2008