Ramid urges Mansouri to restore human rights minister in next government

Former human rights minister Mustapha Ramid called Monday for Morocco’s next government to restore a ministerial post dedicated to human rights, arguing that the portfolio needs a direct advocate inside cabinet as Fatima Ezzahra Mansouri negotiates the structure of her incoming government.

In a Facebook post, Ramid said the absence of a minister responsible for the file risks leaving human rights without an institutional voice during government deliberations, particularly when questions of public order and civil liberties intersect.

Ramid pointed to Article 92 of Morocco’s Constitution, under which the Government Council deliberates on current issues and legislation related to human rights and public order.

“If public order has someone to protect and defend it, namely the interior minister,” Ramid argued, human rights should likewise be represented by a senior minister capable of defending rights and freedoms within government.

He said such a portfolio could also be attached to another related ministry, such as justice, rather than necessarily operating as a standalone department.

Ramid criticized the previous government’s decision to dispense with a dedicated human rights minister, contrasting it with Saad Eddine El Othmani’s government, in which Ramid himself held the human rights brief.

He argued that even without extensive executive powers, such a minister could exercise political and institutional influence by ensuring rights questions are raised during cabinet discussions and incorporated into public policy.

Ramid also criticized the National Human Rights Council, or CNDH, saying it had become less active in defending rights and freedoms in recent yearS, an assessment made by Ramid and not an official finding.

His intervention comes as Mansouri continues consultations over the composition and structure of Morocco’s next cabinet.

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