ANNOUNCEMENT: The Department of State will release an addendum to this report in mid 2021 that expands the subsection on Women in Section 6 to include a broader range of issues related to reproductive rights. Private business activity is hampered in part by the dominant role of the king and his family. Executive Summary. On February 11, an appeals court in Tetouan sentenced Soufian al-Nguad, 29, to one year in prison for “incitement to insurrection,” after he posted comments on Facebook encouraging people to march in protest against the death of Hayat Belkacem. 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Romania; Waiver Process for CDC Order on pre-Flight Testing; Former Ambassador Zuckerman, Deputy Chief of Mission Muniz Meet with Prime Minister Citu; Speeches. I’ve asked our team to release an addendum for each country report later this year that will cover these issues. Demonstrators hold up signs during a protest calling to free Hajar Raissouni, a Moroccan journalist who was sentenced for an "illegal abortion" and sexual relations outside marriage, in Rabat on October 2, 2019. 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Cuba Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. It imposes fines on employers who violate the law, and prison sentences for some repeat offenders. All of the 6,244 refugees recognized by the UNHCR since 2007 have access to public education and health services and most of them have regular residency permits and work authorizations, according to the UNHCR representation in Morocco. Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government? The government has granted temporary residency permits to refugees and migrants as part of an effort to regularize their status and provide them with basic services, which earned Morocco international praise in recent years. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. On April 6, an appeals court upheld the three-year prison sentence pronounced against journalist Hamid El Mahdaoui for failing to report a security threat. On April 6, an appeals court in Casablanca confirmed the first-instance verdicts against Hirak protest leaders in the Rif region of Morocco, who were sentenced on June 2018 to up to 20 years in prison, largely based on statements that they said were made under police torture. The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – the Human Rights Reports – cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights … NOTE: The 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices were released on March 30, 2021. A law on violence against women criminalizes some forms of domestic violence and establishes preventive measures, but does not set out duties of police, prosecutors, and investigative judges in domestic violence cases, or fund women’s shelters. Is there a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections? Law enforcement officers frequently violate legal and procedural safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention, and many convictions rely on confessions that may have been coerced. 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. U.S. Election 2020: A Guide; Message for U.S. Citizens – U.S. Embassy Dhaka, Bangladesh; 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh Home হোম | News & Events | 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh. Kohler had not been replaced at time of writing. The … 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Finland The 2020 Human Rights Report consists of 198 country reports, highlighting the progress made, the ground lost, and the work that remains in ensuring respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms everywhere. Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free from extensive political indoctrination? Civil society groups that promote Amazigh rights have faced government interference. GYLA described the suspension as a restriction on freedom of expression and submitted a case on Shengelia’s behalf to the Constitutional Court on July 6. 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Morocco Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. In 2018, Zefzafi and three other activists were sentenced to 20 years in prison for their role in the demonstrations, while an additional 50 activists were sentenced to between 1 and 15 years’ imprisonment on lesser charges. The ensuing Hirak Rif protest movement against corruption and economic deprivation gained support from activists across Morocco. There were credible reports that Azerbaijani forces abused soldiers and civilians in their custody (see the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2020 for Armenia). Were the current national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections? 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016. There is some freedom of private discussion, but state surveillance of online activity and personal communications is a serious concern, and the arrests of journalists, bloggers, and activists for critical speech serve as a deterrent to uninhibited debate among the broader population. Poverty is widespread, and economic opportunities are scarce for a large portion of the population. Share this page on: Close. Page d'accueil | Nouvelles et événements | Rapport 2020 sur les pratiques des droits humains. A 2018 law criminalized domestic violence and forced marriage, and imposed more stringent penalties on those convicted of rape. A 2018 labor law meant to protect young women employed as household workers requires employers to use written contracts, sets a minimum working age of 18 (after a five-year phase-in period during which 16- and 17-year-olds are allowed to work), mandates a day off each week, and sets a minimum wage. Home | Our Relationship | Official Reports | 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Brunei EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ANNOUNCEMENT: The Department of State will release an addendum to this report in mid 2021 that expands the subsection on Women in Section 6 to include a broader range of issues related to reproductive rights. ANNOUNCEMENT: The Department of State will release an addendum to this report in mid 2021 that expands the subsection on Women in Section 6 to include a broader range of issues related to reproductive rights. 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Inaugural Address by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as Prepared for Delivery at the United States Capitol American Citizen Services Newsletter The number includes 3,048 who were charged with adultery, 170 with same-sex relations, and all of the rest for sex between unmarried persons. 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Vietnam. Royal commissions tend to wield more power than government ministers. 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Australia; Speeches. March 30, 2021 By US Department of State (click here for pdf version) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. The case was possibly motivated by Raissouni being a journalist at Akhbar Al Yaoum, a daily newspaper that authorities have targeted repeatedly for its independent reporting and commentary, and her being a relative of high-profile dissidents. 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Georgia ... (see the 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights for Georgia, section 3). Bloggers are harassed for posting content that offends the monarchy, although many online activists operate anonymously. The 2019 conviction of journalist Hajar Raissouni for supposedly having an illegal abortion and engaging in sex outside marriage underscored the need for greater political mobilization on behalf of women’s rights, prompting a nationwide petition calling for an end to outmoded and discriminatory laws. Score Change: The score declined from 2 to 1 due to a cabinet reorganization initiated by the king that reduced the power and representation of elected political parties and installed a large share of nonpartisan technocrats. In July, a court in Salé issued death sentences for three men convicted of the December 2018 murders of two Scandinavian women hikers in the Atlas Mountains. Raissouni, Al-Amin, and the doctor were freed on October 16 after receiving a royal pardon. In an attempt to comply with European Court of Justice rulings stating that trade agreements between European Union countries and Morocco can only apply to Western Sahara with “the consent of its people,” the European Commission and parliament conducted consultations with some elements of the population of Western Sahara. In Morocco, consensual sex between adults who are not married to one another is punishable by up to one year in prison. Five cousins of a U.S. citizen were arrested and detained in June, and his already incarcerated father … Download [316 KB] ... see the Department of State’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights for Western Sahara.) I am honored to release the 45th annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to placing human rights at the center of our foreign policy. Amnesty International has been prohibited from carrying out research in Morocco since 2015. Freedom of assembly is restricted. While profound reforms are needed to combat corruption, progress has been slowed by a lack of political will, low institutional capacity, and the influence of elites who benefit from the status quo. As of June 2019, the ministry of foreign affairs had granted, or started the administrative process for granting refugee cards, along with special residency permits and work authorizations to 803 persons, most of them sub-Saharan Africans, whom the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had recognized. The PPS won 12 seats, a decline of 6. Three assailants, who were avowed supporters of the Islamic State militant group, were sentenced to death for the crime in July 2019. Do various segments of the population (including ethnic, religious, gender, LGBT, and other relevant groups) have full political rights and electoral opportunities? March 31, 2021. Is there protection from the illegitimate use of physical force and freedom from war and insurgencies? You can now read the U.S. Department of State’s 45th annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Teachers’ unions organized a series of protests during the year to demand better working conditions, at times drawing harsh police responses. 2020 Human Rights Reports The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – the Human Rights Reports – cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements.