Address of Speaker of House of Representatives Habib El Malki on Celebration of Civil Society National Day

Dear Head of Government,

Dear Speaker of House of Councilors,

Dear Minister of State for Human Rights and Relations with Parliament,

Dear United Nations Resident Coordinator in Morocco,

Dear Officials of Civil Society Bodies,

Dear Attendees,

I am pleased to take part in this meeting that celebrates the bodies of Moroccan civil society and honors the people carrying the responsibility of associative action, social and cultural guidance, and the execution of projects in many related sectors.

On this occasion, I would like to commend the dynamism marking civil society bodies and associations, and their commitment to work in several sectors, starting from education, guidance and culture, to contribution to local development, along with their role in defending and consolidating human rights in their different aspects and generations.

Allow me, on this occasion, to recall the decisive roles played by Moroccan civil society throughout Morocco’s modern history. For instance, during colonization, civil society contributed to breeding and forming nationalists. It was also the backbone of the Moroccan nationalist movement, and the incubator of libertarian nationalist thought amidst the battle for freedom.

On gaining independence, civil society assumed a central role in consolidating nationalist thought, building Moroccan personality, and ending with the linkage and attachment to colonial powers. It has also contributed to reinforcing the idea of independence in its cultural, economic, and value aspects, and preparing the ground for openness on world cultures, human values, and democracy. This has entrenched the exercise of traditions relating to freedom of assembly, association, and general freedoms regulated by the 1958 Dahir that the late HM King Mohammed V was keen to sign and make it the basis for officially consolidating pluralism in all its ideological, political, cultural, and social aspects and meanings.

Also, Moroccan civil society has been contributing for decades to enriching Moroccan culture and keen to preserve pluralism and diversity, in addition to promoting, regulating, and spreading cultural action and production, taking into consideration the sectoral aspect. It has also been keen to defend human rights and liberties, thus contributing, from its position and within its competences, to solidify the democratic and institutional construction.

The historical ground struggle led by Moroccan civil society culminated in the position that was conferred to civil society bodies in the 2011 Constitution, which stipulated their rights, duties, and roles, as it has reinforced their role in preparing and implementing decisions and projects of elected institutions and authorities. Article 12 of the Constitution stipulates that the creation of advisory bodies to engage the different social actors in preparing, executing, and implementing public policies, is a competence of public authorities.

Today, we have various opportunities and broader horizons opened by the constitution and local legislation to Moroccan civil society for it to contribute to public affairs and to govern their management, to push public policies and programs towards meeting the needs of the community. The closeness marking the work of civil society, its sectoral reach, and the diversity of the areas it works on are, without a doubt, elements that qualify it to guide citizens’ initiatives concerning the petitions directed to public authorities and elected national and local bodies, and the motions on legislation directed to both Houses of the Parliament.

As much as this guidance would contribute to increasing the legitimacy and popularity of civil society bodies, it would also widen the scope of civic participation, strengthen institutions, and consolidate faith in them.

However, we should also recall, in our actions and thoughts, that participatory democracy as a constitutional provision does not substitute parliamentary democracy and representative institutions. In this respect, there should always be respect of the boundaries separating political and civic action. For instance, civil society associations cannot and would not want to replace political parties. In this context, I think that the strength of civil society emanates from its autonomy and independence from the other sectors and organizations, which makes it a lever for democracy and an instrument for enriching democratic practice.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On the one hand, and to achieve this goal, we, the House of Representatives, have established the Petitions Committee (whose competences will be widened to encompass the motions on legislation). The role of this committee is to receive the petitions of citizens, following the provisions set out in the Constitution, the House’s Rules of Procedure, and the organic law relative to that. We also included, in the new administrative structure of the House, two services for petitions and motions on legislation.

On the other hand, we have created, in cooperation with the government, an online platform to manage the petitions of citizens, respond to them, and decide their outcomes.

We surely aspire together that civil society would play the role conferred to it in guiding the initiatives of citizens regarding petitions and motions. Also, I have faith that it would give new impetus and enrich the democratic practice in our country. Also, we will try to continue the dialogue with civil society under what we established previously in the first colloquium between the House and civil society in May 2019, and the conclusions we agreed on at the symposium on participatory democracy, held at the House on February 25^th, 2020. Besides, we are aware of the needs of civil society to perform its roles in this respect, and we are keen to overcome the difficulties that would obstruct it, and foresee the possibilities of simplifying measures to achieve the lofty goals of the Constitution.

If the challenges facing modern societies are increasing, and if they are mainly challenging states and executive and elected institutions, they are still opportunities for civil society to advocate social cases. These challenges also hold civil society accountable in guiding, awareness-raising, correcting misrepresentations, and calling for moderation and tolerance. Also, the new international problems such as climate imbalances, forced migration, biological phenomena, and cross-border epidemics, as the world, unfortunately, witnesses today, make civil society a key partner to the Government and official institutions in developing strategies to counter these challenges and mitigate their risks.

As Moroccans, we must be proud of civil society, not only for its work in these areas, but also in development, as it gave valuable productive dynamism that has contributed to the development of social and solidarity-based economy, and it has contributed to making several social services accessible to numerous groups of society. This dynamism is what makes it a partner to the government and the public sector in achieving development and making it responsive to the expectations of local communities.

On another note, we should be proud of the remarkable presence of Moroccan civil society abroad, and the positive feedback to its activities and initiatives, which are reinforced by the valuable and positive contributions of Moroccan expatriates through the vital civic actions.

In this regard, I think that the record of Moroccan civil society in its relations with its counterparts in northern countries should be invested in solidifying relations with the peers in African countries, where opportunities of cooperation are numerous and promising, and where human resources are various, and where shortages require solidarity and benefit from our expertise and practices. There is no doubt that this is an investment in the future, and in a geopolitical sphere subject to significant challenges. As you know, our country seeks, through the African policy led by HM King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, which relies on balanced partnership and shared profit to empower Africa to control its assets and decisions, to contribute sincerely, and to make this sphere the one of future and continent of emergence. Indeed, the shared history, culture, destiny and challenges remain essential elements that facilitate this orientation.

Dear Officials of Bodies of Civil Society,

If Morocco has many historical and immaterial assets of which it can be proud, then civil society, with its diversity, productivity, dynamism, and territorial and national presence is one of them, for it is one of the characteristics that has marked the history of this nation through its many fields of intervention, vigilance and commitment to work of proximity. Therefore, it deserves all the support, and its initiatives deserve all appreciation. It is also our responsibility as Government, Parliament, representative and executive local, provincial, and regional bodies to maintain the brilliance of our civil society as a vehicle for development and contribution to restoring faith in institutions.

To conclude, I would like to laud your presence and renew my thanks to the Minister of State for his kind invitation.

Thank you for your attention.