King Mohammed VI of Morocco has been in France since May, leaving his country's government in a political deadlock after the opposition party, Istiqlal, said it would withdraw from the Islamist PJD-led government coalition earlier that month. The ...

Three Moroccan left-wing political parties have joined forces to challenge the spread of conservatism. According to Labour Party Secretary-General Abdelkrim Benatiq, the new left-wing alliance aims to create a strong modernist political party which champions a democratic and open society. Leaders of ...

Morocco's second largest political party, Istiqlal, is withdrawing from the coalition government. Istiqlal spokesman Adil Benhamza said, “The party can never remain in a government that continues to pursue policies targeting the buying power of the citizens by raising prices ...

In the State Department's newest human rights report on Morocco, the analysis identifies "little or no progress by year’s end in passing necessary to implement the advances, such as gender equality and parity, provided for in the ...

A U.S.-backed proposal to require the U.N.'s observer mission in occupied Western Sahara to monitor human rights abuses has been rescinded. U.S. diplomats dropped calls to enhance the U.N'.'s observer mission to the disputed territory after ...

The State Department released the 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. These reports provide detailed assessments of the status of human rights around the world. Uzra Zeya, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,

The Moroccan government Monday categorically rejected a proposal to allow the U.N. observer mission in the disputed Western Sahara to monitor alleged human rights abuses. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last week suggested in a report to the ...

Demonstrators marching for "our rights and freedoms" protested against planned industrial relations laws and high unemployment in the Moroccan capital Rabat on Sunday. Nearly 30,000 demonstrators took to the streets ahead of plans by Prime Minister ...

In a recent piece for Al-Monitor, David Pollock outlines two prevalent and opposing views of Morocco’s political transition since the Arab Spring. Some analysts and Moroccan officials point to Morocco’s ability to change while maintaining stability as a possible ...

This week, Morocco sentenced two dozen of activists from the Western Sahara for allegedly killing members of the security forces in 2010. Eight were handed life sentences, while four received 30-year terms. However, Amnesty International called the trials "flawed" and ...

Activists in Morocco yesterday marked the second anniversary of the founding of the February 20 Movement by protesting outside parliament and calling for the release of political prisoners, dignity and freedom.  Some 800 people participated in the evening ...

To mark the 2nd anniversary of the Arab Spring, the Woodrow Wilson Center released a report, titled "Has the Arab Spring Lived up to Expectations?" The report features opinions from 39 experts from the Middle East, North Africa, ...

Photo Credit: AFPFollowing international recognition of the Syrian National Coalition as “the ‘legitimate representative’ body of the Syrian people,” Morocco’s King Mohammed VI encouraged the U.N. Security Council to reach an expedient consensus regarding political transition in ...

On December 11, U.S. President Barack Obama announced the U.S. now officially recognizes the Syrian Opposition Coalition as “the legitimate representative of the Syrian people." Deputy Secretary of State William Burns restated the position while attending the “Friends of ...

Opposition leaders in Morocco are growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of reform in their country. "These days, many here (in Morocco) are questioning whether the king and his entourage really gave up anything at all," said Suzanne Daley in the New ...