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Led by the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) across Morocco’s 12 regions, the «Youth for Abolition» initiative concluded on Friday in Rabat with a meeting dedicated to presenting the work carried out under the program. Speaking at the event, 24 of the initiative’s 240 beneficiaries, aged between 18 and 30, shared their proposals and best practices for raising awareness about abolishing the death penalty.
Their contributions drew on local realities while engaging with Morocco’s domestic legal framework and the international legal instruments to which the country is a party. Chief among them is the United Nations moratorium on capital punishment, which Morocco supported for the first time at the UN General Assembly in December 2024.
Opening the event, CNDH president Amina Bouayach recalled that the initiative forms part of the institution’s advocacy for recognition of the absolute right to life, as enshrined in Article 20 of the 2011 Constitution. In her view, this principle, which protects «human dignity», is «the foundation of all rights» and «cannot be taken away under any pretext». Involving young people in this momentum reflects a «conviction about the crucial role they can play in building a genuine culture of human rights within a society committed to these principles, by passing them on to new generations», she said.
Passing the advocacy baton to young people
Amina Bouayach also argued that «broadening the scope of advocacy means investing in raising awareness among young people who are capable of keeping this debate alive». In partnership with the Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty, the Council of Europe, and the international organization Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), the CNDH aims to move from a de facto moratorium toward legislative reform that would formally abolish capital punishment in Moroccan law.
«Morocco’s human rights experience has shown that progress is cumulative, that lasting reforms require continuous dialogue and collective commitment, and that they are built through gradual transformation, combining public debate with institutional development. This is a collective responsibility that calls for a discourse capable of restoring the full value of life, giving justice a broad humanist perspective, and raising questions that may sometimes be uncomfortable but are essential to understanding the relationship between law and society.»
Mustapha Najmi, who coordinated the project within the CNDH, said the initiative sought to introduce young people to «a new form of communication and advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty». Conducted in cooperation with local civil society organizations across the regions, the campaign mobilized «240 young people nationwide, spread across the kingdom’s twelve regions, with the right to life as its central theme, a fundamental and universal human right, not a privilege».
According to the project coordinator, the initiative’s main objectives were to «broaden youth participation through the CNDH, propose educational tools and activities to encourage that engagement, contribute to developing a legal discourse in favor of abolishing the death penalty, and train young people to design concrete and effective initiatives at both the local and national levels».
The workshops were designed to reflect the diversity of the participants, most of whom were volunteers, with broad representation across backgrounds, social groups, and personal trajectories. Around 30% of participants are pursuing university or legal studies, 25% are studying social sciences, and 20% are enrolled in technical preparatory programs or other specializations. Nearly ten organizations active in the legal field and beyond took part in the initiative, alongside eight universities and five high schools.
High school and university students raise awareness among their peers
Mustapha Najmi explained that «the aim was to strike a balance between legal concepts and analysis-based approaches, create a safe and respectful environment conducive to interactive dialogue, and produce recommendations and opinions adapted to local and regional realities». To achieve this, four workshops were organized in each region to «provide a general legal and conceptual framework, while emphasizing that abolishing the death penalty is rooted in simple fundamental principles, taking into account the legal, social, and human dimensions of the issue».
«We also wanted to integrate certain local specificities. In some regions of Morocco, customary law and traditions rooted in our history can support efforts to abolish the death penalty by upholding practices that are neither foreign nor new, since alternative forms of punishment for murder have existed in different ways throughout history. Because law is positive law, shaped by human experience, the judiciary, and many other fields, it can draw inspiration in particular from the common sense embedded in these practices, in line with the international framework», Mustapha Najmi said.
For his part, senior lawyer Abderrahim Jamai, coordinator of the Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty, expressed hope that the project «will contribute to intergenerational dialogue», within a dynamic where «it is essential to place trust in young people to build a better future».
Jamai also highlighted the role of «young people in building a society open to new horizons, a generation capable of addressing Morocco’s contemporary social challenges through a constructive and transformative approach, both in legislation and public policy».
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