In a report issued Tuesday, the Council of Europe hails the performance of the Moroccan parliament. Meanwhile, the organization urged Morocco to implement other projects in the future. For the Council of Europe, an international organization whose stated aim is to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe, Morocco has made progress in strengthening democratic governance and the rule of law. Joining the partnership for democracy between the Parliament of Morocco and Parliament Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in 2011, the report published Tuesday, 11th of September, shows that the Kingdom has succeeded in passing «almost all the institutional acts provided for in the 2011 Constitution, the reform of the judiciary, and the reform of the electoral law». Reviewing the implementation of the partnership for democracy with the parliament of Morocco, the Council of Europe's Political Affairs Committee urged the Moroccan authorities to «pursue and take ownership of the reforms». Implementing in practice the process of decentralization The committee believes that Morocco should strengthen the parliament resources and implement in practice the process of decentralization. Moreover, it reported that the representation of women in the in the Moroccan political sphere has evolved. «The committee invited the Moroccan Parliament to continue its efforts as regards gender equality, including in the economic field and education. It also welcomed the migration policy pursued by Morocco, based on an inclusive vision of the integration of migrants into Moroccan society». The Council of Europe The Council of Europe also called on the North African Kingdom to create a common legal area between Europe and Morocco through the ratification of a series of conventions. These agreements should focus on the «mutual administrative assistance in tax matters and the counterfeiting of medical products», added the same source. For the record, the Moroccan parliament was granted partner for democracy status by the PACE in June 2011. Based on Revolution 1818, it was the first parliament to be given this status to «develop institutional co-operation with the parliaments of neighboring States of the Council of Europe. A first evaluation of this partnership was made in 2015», concluded the same report.
