The Government dodges Sumar’s complaints about human rights violations in Morocco

Eduardo González The Government has responded evasively to a parliamentary question from Sumar, the junior partner in Pedro Sánchez's coalition government, regarding human rights violations in Morocco and the "inconsistency" of co-hosting a World Cup "with a regime that allocates vast resources to sports infrastructure while repressing its population for demanding that these funds be invested in decent public healthcare." In a written parliamentary question submitted on November 11 by MPs Enrique Santiago and Juan Antonio Valero, of the United Left (IU), the Sumar Multiannual Parliamentary Group expresses its "concern" about "the serious restrictions on the right to demonstrate in Morocco and the systematic arrests that have been taking place since August" in the context of "protests in defense of the right to public healthcare, basic freedoms, and an end to corruption." This repression, he continues, has led to the “detention of more than 400 people,” who “face prison sentences of several years in legal proceedings that lack even the most basic procedural guarantees” and who were “arrested for peacefully exercising their right to demonstrate in a country that is, de facto, a monarchical dictatorship despite its democratic facade.” According to Sumar, “the serious violation of human rights in Morocco is not an ‘internal matter,’ since human rights are, by definition, universal.” Furthermore, this situation is having a “direct impact on Spain, given that the political repression and misery generated by the regime of Mohammed VI are forcing thousands of Moroccan citizens to flee their country, with Spain being one of the main destinations for these people.” Sumar also accuses the Moroccan regime of “recurringly using its own desperate population as a tool of political pressure on the Spanish government, generating migration crises that affect the Ceuta and Melilla borders.” “These people are not ‘invaders,’ as the far right portrays them, but human beings who aspire to live with dignity in their own country and whose rights are systematically violated while the monarch flaunts an insulting level of luxury in the face of the people’s misery,” it warns. “Faced with this situation, the Spanish government has two options: reinforce the dictatorship of Mohammed VI by legitimizing the illegal occupation of Western Sahara carried out by the Moroccan regime with the support of Trump and Israel and the silence of Europe, or take the path of defending human rights,” Sumar warns. Furthermore, Sumar considers it “inconsistent with the defense of human rights to share the organization of a World Cup with a regime that allocates enormous resources to sports infrastructure while repressing its population for demanding that those funds be invested in decent public healthcare.” For all these reasons, the party led by Vice President Yolanda Díaz asks what measures are being taken to support respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Morocco, whether the Spanish government’s “deep concern” regarding human rights violations “has been or is planned to be conveyed” to the Moroccan government, and what measures have been adopted “to promote the release of prisoners of conscience in Moroccan jails.” Furthermore, Sumar asks the Government if it intends to “promote international initiatives aimed at ensuring that major sporting or cultural events respect human rights criteria and are not used to cover up systematic human rights violations” and if it has considered “the possibility of Spain withdrawing from the organization of the 2030 FIFA World Cup as a sign of protest or for reasons of consistency in the defense of human rights”, so as not to contribute to “whitewashing the Moroccan regime”. “Firm commitment to human rights” In its response, registered on December 19 and published this week in the Official Gazette of the Spanish Parliament, the Government simply states that it “is fully committed to the organization of the 2030 FIFA World Cup from a sporting perspective and also to the principles of respect for human rights, sustainability, and social inclusion.” “The recent creation of the Interministerial Commission, the implementation of the Second Human Rights Plan, and the guarantees approved on July 30, 2024, reflect this commitment and the Government’s desire to ensure that this event serves as a positive benchmark for sport and society as a whole,” it continues. “This firm commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights extends to all areas of its political action, both nationally and internationally,” the Government affirms. “As an active member of the European Union and in accordance with current legislation, Spain actively ensures respect for and the guarantee of human rights, as the country commits to by signing and becoming a party to numerous international and national treaties, conventions, and legal instruments,” it continues. “The Government of Spain guarantees the full observance of fundamental rights and public freedoms in all areas of its administration,” the response concludes.

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