7 January 2004 - November 30, 2005

Mandate: Established by King Mohammed VI by royal decree, in January 2004, to:

• investigate and document grave abuses (forced disappearances and arbitrary detention) that occurred from independence in 1956 until 1999, notably during the 38-year reign of King Hussein II. (1961-1999);
• decide on reparation packages for victims and survivors;
• propose other remedies for victims, and safeguards against a recurrence of abuses;
• provide a report by April 2005 that provides both a general historical reconrd and specific information for families of victims.

The Commission presented the King with its final report [Click here] in December 2005, with a summary made public on December 17, 2005. The report recommended that 9,280 victims were entitled to reparations, (financial but also medical and psychological) and identified the graves of 85 people who had been held in secret prisons. Other recommendations included the reinforcement of human rights guaranteed by the Constitution, and judicial reforms, including the defining of such crimes as forced disappearances, torture and arbitrary detention,

Endorsing the recommendations, the King asked the Consultative Council on Human Rights – presided over by the same Driss Benzekri who had directed the IER – to ensure that action was taken.

[Click here for the Amnesty International Report 2006 – Morocco/Western Sahara]

January 2008: Although the Commission, the first of its kind in the Arab world, was generally accepted there had been continued reservations by human rights activists about its inability to name individuals responsible for abuses - notably absent from the Commission's recommendations was anything concerning the prosecution of perpetrators and that the mandate was quite limited in terms of the range of abuses experienced (e.g. torture, murder, unfair trials, etc.). 

On 26 June 2006, the Moroccan section of Amnesty International presented its annual report on human rights. The report recommended compensation for 9,000 former victims of human rights abuses in Morocco, including provision for medical and administrative assistance (Morocco Times, 2006).

Despite extensive investigations, the Equity Commission never shed light on the fate of Socialist Opposition leader Mehdi Ben Barka, who disappeared on 29 October 1965, while in Paris. The Commission claimed that more time was needed to conclude the investigation. Meanwhile, French judge Patrick Ramael is preparing to issue international arrest warrants against five Moroccan officials, in connection with the disappearance. [Reuters]