MOROCCO Map Geography People Economy Military
Arab Morocco Occupies Saharawi Arab Republic
Claims EU (Spanish) areas: Canary Islands, Isla Perejil, Ceuta and Melilla
Women Can't Marry Without Male Guardian Consent
Impunity for "honor" killings of women
Illicit Drug Producer Bound for Western Markets
Built 2000-km separation wall to keep Saharawi guerilla out of occupied West Sahara
Saharawi Arabs Languish for Decades in World's Worst Refugee Camps

Compare Freedom Score of Morocco (Partly Free) and Israel (Free)
Source: Freedom House (PDF, 187 KB)

Compare Human Development Index of Morocco (0.606) and Israel (0.905) (PDF, 670 KB)
Source: United Nations Human Development Report 2003

Compare Corruption Index of Morocco (3.7), Israel (7.3), Germany (7.3) and USA (7.7) Source: Transparency International (PDF, 1.8 MB)

Woman's Human Rights (Human Rights Watch): "Moroccan women's inequality in marriage began before their unions were finalized. While men over the age of eighteen were not required to seek permission to marry, women of any age had to obtain the permission of a male guardian in contracting marriage. The Moroccan Family Code required that a woman obey her husband and submit to his authority. Men could divorce their wives without cause or a court proceeding, while women had to have specific grounds and court approval. Moroccan law classified rape as a crime of morality and not a crime against bodily integrity. Because rape was considered a crime against honor, the law allowed rapists to go unpunished when they married their victims. Moroccan family law did not grant women the same rights as men to make decisions about the upbringing of their children. The law denied divorced women legal guardianship of their children even when they acted as custodial guardians. Where the mother had a custodial guardianship of her children, she risked losing custody should she remarry or establish residence in another city. Women were married without their consent, forced to undergo virginity exams, denied access to divorce and to child custody, and left virtually without recourse in situations of domestic violence. Moreover, although women's political rights and their access to education and employment were in theory protected by Moroccan law, discrimination in the family code limited women's autonomy and thus created obstacles to women's full enjoyment of these rights."

Honor killing in national legal codes (Wikipaedia, Jul 19, 2006): Morocco: Article 418 of the Penal Code states "Murder, injury and beating are excusable if they are committed by a husband on his wife as well as the accomplice at the moment in which he surprises them in the act of adultery."

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Morocco - 2001 (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of U.S. Department of State): "...ultimate authority rests with the King ... the courts remain to some extent subject to extrajudicial pressures, including government influence. Some members of the judiciary are corrupt ... the Government restricted discussion regarding the three topics that the Government considers sensitive: The Monarchy, Morocco's claim to the Western Sahara, and the sanctity of Islam ... citizens do not have the full right to change their government ..."

Moroccan Agenda: Not Just an Islet. Envoy Revives Subject of Spain's North African Enclaves (Desmond Boylan, Wahington Post, Jul 20, 2002): "... dispute over ownership of a tiny island off North Africa, as Morocco injected the thorny subject of two enclaves that Spain controls on the Moroccan coast."

CIA World Factbook (Western Sahara)

CIA World Factbook (Morocco): "Claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties reject other proposals; Spain controls three small possessions off the coast of Morocco - the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas and two autonomous communities on the coast of Morrocco - Ceuta and Mellila; Morocco rejected Spain's unilateral designation of a median line from the Canary Islands in 2002 to explore undersea resources and to interdict illegal refugees from Africa

Illicit producer of hashish; trafficking increasing for both domestic and international drug markets; shipments of hashish mostly directed to Western Europe; transit point for cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe"