Morocco

Observatoire Marocain des Prisons

L’Observatoire marocain des prisons (OMP) is an independent non-governmental organisation created by human rights activists to protect and promote the rights of prisoners. It monitors prison conditions in Morocco, provides legal assistance to prisoners and runs a research, information and advocacy centre for more humane prisons.

The OMP considers that the dignity and physical and moral integrity of Moroccan prisoners are flouted, in contempt of national and international law. It particularly criticises overcrowding, the lack of hygiene, malnutrition and poor access to healthcare, all of which are preventing prisons from fulfilling their mission of re-education and social rehabilitation. The OMP aims to ensure both that the rights of prisoners already enshrined in legislation are respected and to improve current texts.

To this end, it seeks to raise awareness of the problems in prisons among managers and the general public. Its work includes visiting prisons and running humanitarian programmes with prisoners, publishing documents which analyse legislation and the problems facing prisons, and organising conferences on this topic. Moroccan civil, military and anti-terrorist legislation provides for the death penalty in 361 cases. The OMP receives complaints from prisoners sentenced to death about recurrent breaches of their rights (loss of visiting rights, isolation, the behaviour of some staff, etc.) It considers that capital punishment is a violation of the right to life and “legal murder”, and contributes to the abolitionist cause, in particular as a member of the Moroccan and World coalition against the death penalty.

Date founded

1999

Structure type

NGO