CNDH shares experience and best practices with two fellow African NHRIs

Two high-level delegations from the National Human Rights Commissions from Liberia and Sierra Leon visited Morocco’s national human rights institution last week, from 8 to 12 January 2018, to share experiences and learn in depth about the National Human Rights Council (CNDH)’s projects, initiatives and best practices. 

Extensive sessions were scheduled throughout the week to exchange with Liberian and Sierra Leonean senior officers on the CNDH’s bonds with the Moroccan parliament, interaction with the United Nations human rights instruments, relationships with national and international stakeholders, with other networks of NHRIs, regional and international organisations, Morocco’s transitional justice experience, etc.  

“We are very glad to have you with us this week, to share our best practices and learn from each other” CNDH President Driss El Yazami, said at the closing session on Friday 12. “This is an opportunity for us to better know each other and engage more with each other, especially through CNDH’s national human rights training institute” he concluded.

The discussions of this closing meeting summed up many of the discussions that were held during the week with CNDH directors and  experts. Many of them are also priorities for the African Network of National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI) and the Global Alliance National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), including migration, business and human rights, human rights educations, etc.  

The meeting further discussed ways of strengthen cooperation within the framework of the African Network, mainly on migration and business and human rights. Launching an African Masters course on the African human rights system was one of the spontaneous and interesting ideas that were shared during the meeting. 

In addition to the Council’s headquarters in Rabat, the two delegation also visited the headquarters of the National Human Rights Training Institut - Driss Vebzekri, the Regional Human Rights Commission of Rabat-Kenitra, the Ministry of State in Charge of Human Rights, the Mediator (Ombudsman) and several NGOs.

The delegation of the National Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone included Mr. Usman Jesse Fornah, President, Ms Grace Colridge-Taylor, Vice-President and Commissioner, and Mr. Joseph Benjamin Manking Kamara, Executive Secretary. The delegation of the Liberian commission included two commissioners Mr. Adolphus Saa Wade and Ms Atty. Oretha Snyder Davis, and  Mr. Herron S. Gbidi, Executive Director.

The CNDH is member of NANHRI Steering Committee and member of the Network's Working Group on Business and Human Rights. The Council also represents Africa at GANHRI’s task force in charge of elaborating GANHRI’s proposition on the Global Compact for Migration and Refugees and at the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA). The Council chairs GANHRI’s Working Group on Business and Human Rights, and as such represents NHRIs in the discussions with the UN open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, whose mandate shall be to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.