In a letter addressed to the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Zniber expressed “the great surprise and amazement” felt by the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom, following the publication of this press release “whose content and terms are in no way appropriate to the framework of dialogue and mutual respect discussed and agreed, in particular during the last working session held on April 30, 2021.”
He recalled that “the persons who are the subject of the press release, in part, were convicted by the Moroccan justice system for serious crimes committed, including the assassination of representatives of the security forces, a conviction pronounced by an independent justice system and in the presence of international observers, having clearly and impartially recognized the validity of the procedure which led to these convictions.”
As for the others, he continued, the Mission “has already transmitted written elements, responses from the authorities, who, as you yourself have acknowledged, interact with all the procedures, in an honest and responsible manner, unlike certain parties who want to harm the Kingdom of Morocco and its territorial integrity, and to which the people you refer claim to belong, and who proclaim their links with the armed militias of the separatist group, who claim to be currently waging a war against my country.”
Therefore, “you will understand that the content of your press release, referring to so-called associations for the liberation from colonialism or to political activists whose action you consider to be peaceful, benefits the separatists, and reinforces them in their continuous provocations, for the sole purpose of making propaganda and harassment, including with regard to a certain number of special procedures, including yours,” he noted.
The ambassador also expressed his great concern that “the rapporteur’s statement interferes with the ongoing debates within the framework of the 47th Session of the Human Rights Council, which since the beginning of this Session, have been marked by verbose and aggressive violence from the representative of Algeria and interested supporters of the separatists, against Morocco.”
He indicated that he had already insisted on the serious error made in the previous communication of the special rapporteur, on the undue sharing of her communication, and “that you have also recognized as an error on your part, in the exchanges that we had, on April 30, already reported in this letter”, he stressed.
Mr Zniber asked the rapporteur, in the name of impartiality and the code of conduct governing her mandate, to also publicly share the information that was transmitted to her, and “which cast doubt on and categorically deny the allegations to which you refer in your press release”.
He also asked the Special Rapporteur to “share the contents of this letter with the mandate holders indicated in your press release.”
2024-09-12 00:17:38