WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2720/98 by Leonie van BLADEL to the Council. Exclusion of the Moroccan dissident Ibrahim Serfaty
Date: 1998-09-01
Institutions: European Parliament, VAN BLADEL
Subjects: Morocco, association agreement (EU), civil law, democracy, dissidence, human rights, stateless person, the EU's international role













EUR-Lex - 91998E2720 - EN






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91998E2720

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2720/98 by Leonie van BLADEL to the Council. Exclusion of the Moroccan dissident Ibrahim Serfaty  


Official Journal C 142 , 21/05/1999 P. 0035 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-2720/98by Leonie van Bladel (UPE) to the Council(1 September 1998)Subject: Exclusion of the Moroccan dissident Ibrahim Serfaty1. Is the Council of Ministers aware that the Moroccan Government has refused authorisation for Ibrahim Serfaty, a Moroccan dissident who was imprisoned for more than ten years in Morocco and who has been living in exile in France for the last seven years, to return to Morocco?2. Is the Council prepared to condemn the exclusion order issued by the Moroccan Government in 1991 and to ask it to allow Mr Serfaty to return to Morocco now and to confirm his civil rights in Morocco?3. What measures does the Council think it might be able to take, in connection with the signing of the Euro-Mediterranean agreements, if the Moroccan Government should persist in excluding Mr Serfaty from Morocco and refuse to acknowledge his civil rights in Morocco?Reply(18/19 January 1999)The Council shares the concern of the Honourable Member on the fate of the Moroccan dissident Ibrahim Serfaty.The Council would point out that Morocco has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 12 of which states that "no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country."The Council recognises that human rights issues are increasingly becoming a salient subject of public debate in Morocco, which is sustained by the diversity and action of Moroccan non-governmental organisations. This public debate is unmistakeably a sign of progress and appears promising for future concrete action.The Council is encouraged by the willingness of the new government of the United Kingdom of Morocco to address questions of human rights and democracy and to continue the process of economic reform. This willingness was apparent in the most recent decisions on political detainees and missing persons which were made public by the Moroccan Advisory Council on Human Rights. It also notes the effort which is being made, with Union support through the MEDA Programme, to reform the Moroccan judicial and penal system, although this effort is still inadequate.It is expected that the Association Agreement with Morocco will enter into force shortly. It should be recalled that this Agreement clearly stipulates that the respect of human rights and democratic principles constitutes an essential element of the Agreement.The final provisions also contain a non-fulfilment clause whereby one Party may take the appropriate measures if it considers that the other Party has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Agreement, without prior consultation, in cases of special urgency.Against this background, the Union will continue to work closely with Morocco both bilaterally, enabling individual cases to be raised, and within the framework of the Barcelona Process with the aim of furthering the achievement of consistent progress in the field of human rights and also of strengthening democracy and the development of civil society in general.