WUNRN
Morocco Accession to CEDAW
Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
|
Morocco
|
. |
21
Jun 1993 a |
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In a message on the celebration day of the 60th
anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights read on
Wednesday, King Mohammed VI had announced the withdrawal of Morocco's
reservations on on some provisions of the CEDAW, deeming them
"obsolete".
MOROCCO CEDAW RESERVATION LIFTED
Reservation:
1. With regard to article 9, paragraph 2:
The Government of the Kingdom of Morocco makes a reservation with regard to this article in view of the fact that the Law of Moroccan Nationality permits a child to bear the nationality of its mother only in the cases where it is born to an unknown father, regardless of place of birth, or to a stateless father, when born in Morocco, and it does so in order to guarantee to each child its right to a nationality. Further, a child born in Morocco of a Moroccan mother and a foreign father may acquire the nationality of its mother by declaring, within two years of reaching the age of majority, its desire to acquire that nationality, provided that, on making such declaration, its customary and regular residence is in Morocco.
1. With regard to article 16:
The Government of the Kingdom of Morocco makes a reservation with regard to the provisions of this article, particularly those relating to the equality of men and women, in respect of rights and responsibilities on entry into and at dissolution of marriage. Equality of this kind is considered incompatible with the Islamic Shariah, which guarantees to each of the spouses rights and responsibilities within a framework of equilibrium and complementary in order to preserve the sacred bond of matrimony.
The provisions of the Islamic Shariah oblige the husband to provide a nuptial gift upon marriage and to support his family, while the wife is not required by law to support the family.
Further, at dissolution of marriage, the husband is obliged to pay maintenance. In contrast, the wife enjoys complete freedom of disposition of her property during the marriage and upon its dissolution without supervision by the husband, the husband having no jurisdiction over his wife's property.
For these reasons, the Islamic Shariah confers the right of divorce on a woman only by decision of a Shariah judge.
1. With regard to article 29:
The Government of the Kingdom of Morocco does not consider itself bound by the first paragraph of this article, which provides that `Any dispute between two or more States Parties concerning the interpretation or application of the present Convention which is not settled by negotiation shall, at the request of one of them, be submitted to arbitration.
The Government of the Kingdom of Morocco is of the view that any dispute of this kind can only be referred to arbitration by agreement of all the parties to the dispute.
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Rabat,
12 Dec. 2008 (MAP) - Several local women's rights NGOs commended Morocco's
decision to lift reservations on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), describing it as a recognition of
full-fledged equality between men and women.
In a message on the celebration day of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights read on Wednesday, King Mohammed VI had announced the withdrawal of Morocco's reservations on on some provisions of the CEDAW, deeming them "obsolete".
The sovereign had also highlighted the achievements of Morocco in terms of human rights, notably the consolidation of political and civic rights, especially gender equality - enshrined in the Family Code, and reaffirmed the country's aim "to broaden the scope of freedom of expression and opinion, within the framework of the rule of law."
Chairman of the Moroccan Organization of Human Rights (OMDH), Amina Bouayach said that the royal decision would have positive effects for national laws and gender equality-related provisions.
This demand dates back to 1993, when the CEDAW was
signed, she told MAP, stressing that the reservations on this convention
emptied it of its contents, namely the principle of gender equality.
Echoing her, chairwoman of the Feminine action union, Nezha
Alaoui underlined that Morocco has lifted all the impediments to the
recognition of full equality between men and women in terms of economic, social
and political rights.
Morocco, she went on, made an important step as regards establishing gender equity, noting that this decision will hallmark the history of the society, and be a milestone for women’s and human rights associations fighting for the equality of chances.
The royal decision is a "soft revolution for the
recognition of equality between men and woman, a principle for which women's
movement has struggled for years,” head of the Democratic League of women's
rights, Fouzia Assoul said.
National coordinator of women’s association
"Jousssour”, Ghizlane Benyaich, commended, for her part, the royal
decision, stressing that it should be coupled with mechanisms ensuring a better
applicability of these reservations.
The CEDAW is an international convention adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it came into force on September 3rd 1981.
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