President of the African Human Rights Watch, Abdelwahab Gain and President of the Sahara Center for Studies and Research on Development and Human Rights, Professor Shaibatah Mrrabih Rabou have congratulated the Kingdom of Morocco for its progress in women’s rights.

On the sidelines of the 50th session of the Council of DH in Geneva, the experts from the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and other civil society groups reviewed the Kingdom of Morocco before the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

The experts noted that the Kingdom’s voluntary actions taken by King Mohammed VI to improve women's rights, in particular the recovery of the legal age of marriage and the affirmation of the principle of equality of men and women in family relations, which are now enshrined in the Family Code, was commendable.

They were also pleased that the Moroccan Constitution of 2011 prohibits all forms of discrimination – a provision that is repeated in several pieces of legislation.

Following an exchange of opinions with members of the Moroccan delegation on the issues that caught the attention of the Committee's experts, Mr Gain and Prof Shaibatah observed that Morocco's compliance with its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; Contacting eight expert members of the UN Committee before and after the review sessions, from Peru and Spain; and the measures taken by the Government to ensure guarantees of women's rights before the judicial system, women's political participation, economic empowerment and the right to employment, health care and social security.

As part of civil society efforts to encourage advocacy with UN institutions regarding the Kingdom's territorial integrity file, the two speakers said they had communicated with several experts from North Africa and the Middle East of the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait on ways of cooperation regarding work on issues of concern to North Africa and the Middle East.