Back هيئة الإنصاف والمصالحة Arabic Wahrheitskommission Marokko German Instancia Equidad y Reconciliación Spanish Zuzentasun eta Berradiskidetze Instantzia Basque Instance équité et réconciliation French

Equity and Reconciliation Commission

Equity and Reconciliation Commission
هيئة الإنصاف والمصالحة
ⵜⴰⵡⵉⵍⴰ ⵏ ⵓⵙⵓⵎⵓ ⴷ ⵓⵎⵙⵓⴼⵔⵓ
AbbreviationIER
PredecessorJustice and Truth Forum
FormationJanuary 7, 2004 (2004-01-07)
DissolvedNovember 30, 2005 (2005-11-30)
PurposeInvestigating human rights violations committed during the Years of Lead in Morocco, recommendations to the government, rehabilitation and compensation of victims
Location
Chairman
Driss Benzekri
Websiteier.ma at the Wayback Machine (archived August 14, 2007)

The Equity and Reconciliation Commission (Arabic: هيئة الإنصاف والمصالحة, Tamazight: ⵜⴰⵡⵉⵍⴰ ⵏ ⵓⵙⵓⵎⵓ ⴷ ⵓⵎⵙⵓⴼⵔⵓ, French: Instance Équité et Réconciliation; IER) was a Moroccan truth and reconciliation commission active under a two-year mandate from 2004 to 2005 focusing on human rights abuses committed during the Years of Lead mainly under King Hassan II's rule.

The commission was established on January 7, 2004 by King Mohammed VI through a Dahir. The commission was established to reconcile victims of human rights abuses, such as torture, forced disappearances and arbitrary arrests, committed by the government and high-ranking officials during the Years of Lead, with the State. The commission investigates events from 1956 to 1999, spanning the reign of the two previous monarchs. The proclaimed objectives of the commission were the protection and the promotion of the human rights in Morocco.[1]

The IER is considered by truth commission expert Priscilla B. Hayner to be one of the "five strongest truth commissions".[2]

The IER was presided by activist Driss Benzerki, a left-wing activist who was sentenced to 30 years in prison during the Years of Lead for his membership in the Marxist group Ila al-Amam, alongside 16 commissioners, half of them from CCDH. The committee investigated approximately 20,000 cases, resulting in a number of recommendations to the state including: reparations (financial, psychological, medical and social), modification of the constitution, and ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), among others.[3] The commission distributed US$85 million within 18 months of the commission ending.[3]

IER aimed to rehabilitate the victims, and pay compensation for state outrages against them.[4] This has been hailed internationally as a big step forward, and an example to the Arab world.

However, the IER has also come under attack from parts of the human rights-community, since:

  1. its mission is not to reveal the identities of or prosecute human rights offenders, which most of the victims were requesting;[5]
  2. it is not allowed to mention Mohammed's predecessor, King Hassan II;
  3. it is not allowed to report about human rights violations since 1999, when Mohammed VI was enthroned

The IER completed its mandate by delivering its final report to the King of Morocco in December 2005.[6] Amnesty International has published a detailed critique of the work of the commission and its follow-up.[7] The commission and its legacy was explored in the documentary film Our Forbidden Places (Nos lieux interdits).[8] As of 2022, the Commission's website is no longer online.

  1. ^ Slyomovics, Susan (2001-08-01). "A Truth Commission for Morocco". Middle East Report (218): 18–21. doi:10.2307/1559305. ISSN 0899-2851. JSTOR 1559305.
  2. ^ Hayner, Priscilla (2011). Unspeakable Truths: Transitional Justice and the Challenge of Truth Commissions. New York: Routledge. pp. 42–44. ISBN 978-0-415-80635-0.
  3. ^ a b "Truth Commission: Morocco". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  4. ^ ICTJ Activity in Morocco Archived 2020-03-07 at the Wayback Machine - International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Morocco's Truth Commission: Honoring Past Victims during an Uncertain Present: V. Constraints on the ERC - Human Rights Watch (HRW.org)
  6. ^ "Instance équité et réconciliation : Le devoir accompli". Le Matin (Morocco). 2005-12-30. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  7. ^ "Morocco/Western Sahara: Broken Promises: The Equity and Reconciliation Commission and its Follow-up". Amnesty International. 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
  8. ^ Mandelbaum, Jacques (29 September 2009). ""Nos lieux interdits" : enquête autour de disparus sous la dictature d'Hassan II". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 12 March 2012.

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