Morocco's human rights achievements lauded

Morocco has a roadmap to promote human rights and an ambition that would enable it to hold a leading position regionally in North Africa and the Arab world as well as internationally, according to Stavros Lambrinidis, EU special representative for human rights.

"The huge human rights ambition set by Morocco will enable it to hold a leading position regionally and internationally," MAP news agency quoted Lambrinidis as saying at a meeting with Inter-Ministerial Delegate for Human Rights, Mahjoub El Hiba, Thursday.

The European official lauded the achievements made by the North African nation in terms of human rights as well as action plans seeking their promotion. He also described the new immigration and asylum policy adopted by Morocco as "an ambitious plan".

This policy enabled regularisation of the situation of several illegal immigrants in Morocco by granting them residence permits to get their rights, he said.

On the development of the Moroccan information and press sector, Lambrinidis said that the press draft law was a huge step forward, and hoped to see the project carried out efficiently.

He also called for reinforcing guarantees of the judiciary's independence and the role of civil society involved in the human rights field.

British Conservative MP Dominic Grieve also said he was impressed by the political and democratic achievements made by Morocco under the leadership of King Mohammed VI.

In a statement to MAP in London on the sidelines of a working visit by a parliamentary delegation led by Morocco's Speaker of the House of Representatives Rachid Talbi Alami to Britain, Grieve lauded the constitutional reforms implemented by Morocco, describing the country as a "key partner" of Britain in the MENA region.