Mohammed Isa Al Abbasi 
The statements of Abdel -Latif Wehbe, Minister of Justice, during the meeting of the Justice, Legislation and Human Rights Committee in the House of Representatives recently, raised a wide wave of condemnation from human rights bodies; The Moroccan Organization for the Protection of Public Funds considered these statements an explicit threat to the principles of transparency and accountability, and an attempt to empty the constitution of its content.
The aforementioned organization said, in a statement, that Wehbe’s fierce defense of the third article of the draft criminal procedure law is “a dangerous step towards devoting impunity, and protecting those involved in plundering public money.”
The organization condemned what it described as the “irresponsible position” of the Minister of Justice, recording that what he expressed reflects a worrying trend to undermine the role of civil society in fighting corruption, and opens the door to obstructing judicial follow -up against officials involved in wasting public money.
The authority stressed that the desperate defense of these amendments raises questions about its real backgrounds, “and reflects a clear will to protect the interests of a certain group of the elected, especially those affiliated with the party to which the minister belongs, in a context that raises suspicions about the employment of power and its privileges to serve narrow electoral agendas in preparation for the benefits of 2026”.
The same condemned the attempts to “intimidate civil society and undermine its constitutional role in fighting corruption,” stressing that these statements “constitute a blatant violation of the two chapters 70 and 71 of the constitution, and reveal a plan to empty accounting mechanisms from its content and enhance protection for public money.”
She considered that “the absence of the participatory approach in preparing the draft criminal ruler law constitutes a flagrant violation of Chapter 12 of the Constitution, and aims to impose legislative orientations that serve corruption lobbies and abort the positive accumulations that Morocco has achieved in the areas of transparency and governance.”
In its statement, the organization stressed its categorical rejection of the third article of the draft criminal ruler in its current form, considering that it contradicts the spirit of the constitution, especially chapters 12, 13, 14 and 15 that devote the role of civil society in promoting participatory democracy, stressing that this article constitutes a clear violation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption approved by Morocco; Which puts the country in an embarrassing position at the international level.
Mohamed Socrates, head of the Moroccan Organization for the Protection of Public Funds, explained that the statements of Minister Wehbe restricting civil society and limiting his roles; Including reporting corruption crimes, not to mention that it penetrates the hand of the Public Prosecution and limits its powers to move the follow -up against those involved in financial corruption.
Socrates, in his statement to the electronic newspaper Hespress, recorded that the statements of the government official remain against transparency and accountability, stating that human rights bodies are rejected by altogether, in detail and condemning any attempts to undermine the role of civil society.
The same spokesman stressed that the Moroccan Organization for the Protection of Public Money, which he heads, will take all the steps that enable it to address what would legitimize corruption through legislative texts and put an end to impunity.
The Moroccan Organization for the Protection of Public Funds called on all democratic forces to stack ranks to confront this “dangerous legislative maneuver”, which seeks to adapt the law to serve narrow interests at the expense of the state of right and law.
