OIC Ombudsman Association Member Institution, Mediator of Kingdom of Morocco announced on Monday that it will launch, this year, a national program called “Towards an Administration of Equality” to contribute to the review and updating of the legal and regulatory framework governing the relationship between the administration and the user.
Through this program, and “based on its fundamental commitment to the protection of administrative rights,” the Institution of the Ombudsman of the Kingdom aims to participate in the review and updating of this system in light of the provisions of the Constitution, the principles of equality and non-discrimination and international human rights standards, the Institution said in a press release.
The objective is to strengthen equity in access to public services, to consolidate trust between the administration and the citizen and to contribute to the construction of a fair, just and efficient public service, underlines the same source.
This program is part of the missions assigned to the Institution by Law No. 14.16 governing its action, its constitutional attributions in terms of protection of citizens’ rights and enshrinement of the principles of equity and equality in access to public services, as well as its role, as a force for proposals, in administrative, legislative and legal reforms.
It is also in line with the Institution’s strategies aimed at supporting the process of building the social state, in accordance with the High Guidelines of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the press release noted.
The said programme is based on the observation of the existence of dysfunctions undermining the principle of equality, which are manifested in certain forms of discrimination, explicit or implicit, both at the level of legal texts and administrative procedures and at the level of practices, and which affect vital sectors such as pension schemes, health and social coverage, administrative documents and land issues.
This initiative embodies a new approach to the concept of “Theme of the Year”, established by the Institution’s internal regulations as an integral part of its annual report, it added.
The Moroccan administration and the issue of equality will thus constitute a thematic framework around which various activities of the Institution will be deployed throughout the year, with the aim of identifying the main failures of the public service in connection with the principle of equitable access to administrative services, in legislation as well as in daily administrative work.
To do this, the Mediator Institution has opted for a participatory approach involving its institutional partners, civil society actors, human rights and women’s rights associations, as well as academics.
In this regard, the Institution invited all institutional actors, researchers and representatives of civil society to take part in this national program by presenting their ideas and proposals, with a view to creating a space for dialogue and collective reflection to develop alternative solutions to address the various forms of discrimination and exclusion.
To this end, the Institution has set up an electronic platform on its official website “www.mediateur.ma” to receive contributions and facilitate interaction with different opinions and proposals, the press release concludes.
