The United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, has launched the Arab world's first centre for human rights training and information in the Moroccan capital, Rabat. There is a willingness to reach out to victims of human rights violations Mary Robinson Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Mrs Robinson said the centre reflected what she called Morocco's remarkable evolution on human rights. Human rights groups have questioned whether the UN-backed centre actually marks change for the Moroccan authorities or is just good public relations. On Sunday, as Mrs Robinson spoke at a press conference welcoming the opening of the human rights centre, the Moroccan Information Ministry announced that it was banning the latest editions of two news magazines. But diplomats maintain that Morocco's record on human rights, once one of the worst in the Arab world, is now one of the best.
Observers insist the abuses continue.
Rabat authorities admit complicity in more than 100 disappearances and extra-judicial killings over the past 30 years, but have yet to respond to allegations hundreds of Saharawis have been abducted and killed during Morocco's rule of Western Sahara. The authorities continue to keep an Islamist leader under house arrest without trial and deny women equal rights. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Links to other Africa stories are at the foot of the page.