U.N. conference must put pressure on Morocco to tackle its "baksheesh" culture, say campaigners
MARRAKESH (TrustLaw) – Pro-democracy activists have urged participants at a high-level United Nations conference to put pressure on Morocco to take steps to fight corruption, including increased transparency and accountability.
The activists sent an open letter to delegates from more than 100 countries who are meeting this week in Marrakesh, Morocco, to review how governments that signed up to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) are doing in their efforts to fight graft and recover stolen assets.
The letter, published by community organisation Mamfakinch on its website on Monday, said corruption permeates Moroccan society and that reforms promised by King Mohammed VI are not enough to put an end to graft.
“Whether you renew your ID card, ask for a birth certificate, open a shop, travel by road, give birth in a public hospital, buy land or are involved in a court case, you will find it very hard not to be forced into giving a ‘bakchich’(payment) to a public official, whether it be a nurse, a policeman, a judge or an employee behind his desk – and this simply to get what the law entitles you to,” the letter said.
UNCAC member countries should publicly disclose all information they might hold concerning corrupt practices in Morocco, in relation to trade, foreign investment and development aid or any other sector, the letter said.
Inspired by protestors elsewhere in North Africa, tens of thousands of Moroccans have been taking to the streets in weekly protests since February 2011.
Campaigners are calling on the government to introduce democratic reform and step up its fight against corruption.
They are also urging citizens to boycott next month's parliamentary elections, which they say will only give credibility to an undemocratic regime.
KING HAS PROMISED REFORMS
The political landscape in Morocco, the Arab world’s fourth-most populous with 32 million people, is dominated by a powerful dynasty that has ruled for 350 years.
King Mohammed VI has promised changes that would dilute his absolute hold on power, including steps to amend the constitution to strengthen the prime minister and parliament, but activists say the charges are only cosmetic and real power still resides with the king and his advisors.
“While corruption is no new phenomenon in Morocco, the authorities are mistaking public communication about corruption with the fight against it,” the letter said.
The king told conference delegates that fighting corruption was a key concern for citizens worldwide.
"Combating corruption now tops the list of citizens' concerns," he said in a message read out to delegates on Monday. "It is a pressing concern. The scourge of bribery and corruption is no longer a domestic problem."
The government set up a new body, the Central Authority for Corruption Prevention (ICPC) and it published a programme of action to prevent and combat bribery this month but campaigners say these efforts were not enough to break the vicious cycle of graft.
Activists are also concerned that Morocco did not consult civil society when submitting its report under the periodic review mandated by UNCAC even though Transparency Maroc, the local chapter of anti-graft watchdog Transparency International, is a very active and well established civil society organisation.
Morocco ranked 85th in Transparency International’s 2010 Global Corruptions Perception Index out of a total of 178 countries. It scored 3.5 on a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to 10 (highly clean).
MORE FROM THE CONFERENCE:
Arab Spring “emphatic rejection of corruption” – UN official
Secrecy undermines effectiveness of world’s biggest anti-graft convention – campaigners
FACTBOX: Five key facts about UN Convention Against Corruption
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