Access to Information in Morocco: Centre for Media Freedom Report Recommends Steps towards Reform

The Casablanca-based Centre for Media Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa (CMF MENA), an IREX grantee, has published a report "The Right of Access to Information in Morocco." The report analyses the legal and the institutional obstacles to access to information and evaluates the modernization policy of the government administration as it relates to freedom of information. CMF MENA worked with journalists, civil servants, and nongovernmental organizations to gather information and opinions on the issue.

The report proposes several important recommendations for reform and a set of principles that must be taken into consideration by the Moroccan legislature when working to adopt a law on access to information. These recommendations to promote access to information include:

    * reform of the penal code on national security issues;
    * reform of the civil service code;
    * publication of public documents and data on government websites, according to universal standards;
    * adoption of a law on the protection and access to private data.

Said Essoulami, executive director of CMF MENA, said, "The Moroccan government still manages the affairs of the state in a secret way and citizens are still denied, in the name of national security, information about issues that are affecting their lives”.

The report reveals the existence of an array of laws and administrative procedures that obstruct access to legitimate information and data.

“It is hoped that this report can create awareness among civil society groups about the importance of these rights for the democratic process and convince authorities that the time has come to adopt a new law on freedom of information like many nations around the world.”

IREX provided a small grant for this project to CMF MENA in collaboration with the Open Society Institute Media Program.