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Human Rights in Morocco
Human Rights in Morocco
Human Rights in Morocco
I- Introduction
Living standards in Morocco are considered low by international standards.
After several decades of progress they have declined continually since the early
1990s. As a result, the number of Moroccans living below the state delineated
poverty line has risen sharply in the last decade. Even though poverty levels
dropped to 13% in 1991, some 19% of the population lived below the poverty
line in 2000. On a positive note, the proportion of the population living at
extreme poverty levels, living on less than $1 per day, decreased to less than 1%
from 2% a decade ago. The proportion of individuals living on less than $2 per
day dropped from 20% to 8% at the national level and from 34% to 14% in rural
areas. In spite of mainstream poverty, disproportionate political and economic
development has led to the emergence of an affluent class, whose top 20%
control 47% of the countrys wealth, while the bottom 20% control 6%. Poverty
is more widespread in rural areas than in urban areas. Historically, the
Casablanca-Rabat axis has been more prosperous, and is also the capital as well
as a major tourist destination, thus receiving more government attention than
the predominantly mountainous Northern provinces and the Western Sahara
region. The rocky mountainous regions, though not ideally habitable, offer
prosperous growing conditions for cannabis cultivation, which has become an
economic means for various Berber communities seeking individual forms of
pecuniary resolution.
IX- Conclusion
In spite of the monarchys claims of operating under a democratic constitution,
ultimate authority rests with its King, Mohammed VI, who has power over the
Council of Ministers allowing him to cherry pick state officials as well as
dissolve parliament via new elections. The PJD which formed in 1998 by King
Hassan II, has effectively partnered with the monarchy, strengthening selective
power within a minority elite. The disparity between the impoverished majority
and the politicized coterie has induced citizens to seek reform and publicly
challenge the monarchy. Morocco, being an Arab state has a tradition of
allegiance to its ruler, the baya, which has stirred controversy between Islamist
obligation and desires for a modern democracy. This conflict is often at the
nucleus of human rights abuses, such as rights to equality, adequate living
standard as well as rights to life, liberty and personal security. Yet the monarchy
continues to increase its authority within the constitution, despite civil riots
demanding representation of popular consent. Ultimately as monarchical and
elitist power rise while poverty and lack of opportunity encumber the masses,
human rights violations will remain an issue in Morocco. Desperation breeds
defiance as a means to attaining justice when peoples needs are callously left
unmet.