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Moroccan Justice Minister slams US human rights report

May 25, 2016 at 11:39 am

The United States does not have the right to criticise Morocco’s human rights record, the country’s  Minister of Justice and Liberties, Mustapha Ramid, said, adding that his government is working to improve human rights in the country.

The minister’s comments in response to questions following the release of a US State Department report which cited corruption and a lack of respect for the rule of law by security forces as the main problems facing the north African state.

The 2015 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Morocco said: “Systematic and pervasive corruption undermined law enforcement and the effectiveness of the judicial system in Morocco,” adding that “impunity was pervasive” with no credible statistics on prosecutions of corrupted officials.

Ramid said the United States has no right to monitor the human rights record in his country, adding that information contained in the US report about human rights violations are unfounded.

He called on human rights organisations not to condemn state institutions until they examine the validity of accusations against them.

Last week, Morocco summoned the US Ambassador to Morocco D to protest against the report.