Libya, Morocco Sign Agreement to Protect Human Rights

Moroccan laborers set to work building a fence along the border with Algeria (File photo: AFP)
Moroccan laborers set to work building a fence along the border with Algeria (File photo: AFP)
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Libya, Morocco Sign Agreement to Protect Human Rights

Moroccan laborers set to work building a fence along the border with Algeria (File photo: AFP)
Moroccan laborers set to work building a fence along the border with Algeria (File photo: AFP)

Libya and Morocco signed a cooperation agreement to develop joint work in the field of human rights protection.

The agreement was signed during the visit of the president of the Libyan Council for Public Liberties and Human Rights, Omar Hijazi, to Morocco.

During the visit, Hijazi and the accompanying delegation met the head of the Moroccan National Council for Human Rights Amna Bouayach.

The Moroccan National Council, a governmental body, announced in a statement on its official Facebook page that a partnership and cooperation agreement was signed between the two national human rights institutions.

The Council declared that the agreement aims to establish and develop joint action and cooperation between the two sides to enhance the protection and advancement of human rights.

Under the agreement, the two bodies agreed to exchange experiences, collaborate on issues of common interest and work together to identify and initiate joint activities in the fields of human rights and public freedoms that fall exclusively within their respective jurisdictions.

Hijazi later held talks with Morocco’s Chief Public Prosecutor El Hassan Daki.

Discussions tackled means of cooperation and exchange of experiences on the public prosecution’s role in protecting rights and freedoms.

It is noteworthy that the agreement comes in light of the complaints of human rights organizations in Rabat about placing hundreds of Moroccan migrants in difficult human conditions in underground detention centers that lack ventilation and are flooded with rain.



US Links Ankara-Damascus Normalization to Political Solution in Syria

Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
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US Links Ankara-Damascus Normalization to Political Solution in Syria

Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)

Recent statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his willingness to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to normalize relations between the two countries have sparked mixed reactions.
While the Syrian opposition sees the possibility of such a meeting despite the challenges, Damascus views the statements as a political maneuver by the Turks. Meanwhile, the United States has tied the normalization process to achieving a political solution in Syria based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254, issued in 2015.
Turkish media reported on Thursday that a US administration official, who was not named, confirmed that Washington is against normalizing relations with the Syrian regime under Assad. He emphasized that Washington cannot accept normalizing ties with Damascus without progress toward a political solution that ends the conflicts in Syria.
Meanwhile, the head of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, Hadi al-Bahra, stated that a meeting between Assad and Erdogan is possible despite the obstacles. In a statement to Reuters on Thursday, Bahra said the meeting is feasible, even though Ankara is fully aware that the Assad regime cannot currently meet its demands and understands the regime’s limitations.
Bahra pointed out that the UN-led political process remains frozen and that he had briefed US and Western officials on the latest developments in the Syrian file. On Saturday, Bahra participated in a consultative meeting in Ankara with the Syrian Negotiation Commission, along with a high-level delegation from the US State Department, during which they exchanged views on the political solution and the need to establish binding mechanisms for implementing international resolutions related to the Syrian issue.
On the other side, Assad’s special advisor, Bouthaina Shaaban, dismissed Erdogan’s announcement that Ankara is awaiting a response from Damascus regarding his meeting with Assad for normalization as another political maneuver with ulterior motives.
Shaaban, speaking during a lecture at the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was reported by Turkish media on Thursday, stated that any rapprochement between the two countries is contingent on its withdrawal of forces from Syrian territory.