As readers of Global Military Justice Reform know, Morocco is instituting
major changes in its military justice system, including forbidding the trial of civilians and excluding civilian-type offenses from court-martial jurisdiction. Here's what the U.S. government had to say, according to
Morocco World News:
The United States “welcomes” the Moroccan government’s initiative to reform the Military Code of Justice and to exempt civilians from trial by military tribunals, a U.S. State Department official told Maghreb Arab Press (MAP), calling the decision as “an important step forward in strengthening the protection of human rights in Morocco.”
“In the Joint Statement issued on the occasion of the November 22 visit of King Mohammed VI to Washington DC, President Barack Obama welcomed the Sovereign’s commitment to end the practice of military trials of civilians,” the official recalled.
“We are pleased to see this commitment made concrete in the form of this draft law. We understand it will now move to Parliament for that body’s approval.” “We urge the Parliament to act quickly to pass the law so that its impact is not delayed,” he said.
The US official also noted that the United States also welcomes “the growing role of the National Council on Human rights as a credible and proactive defender of human rights, and are encouraged by the Council of Government’s decision to strengthen the CNDH by ensuring that government agencies address complaints directed to it.”
He said “both of these measures are important steps forward in strengthening the protection of human rights in Morocco and in realizing the promise of the 2011 Constitution.”
Given this exuberant response to the Moroccan reforms, would it be churlish to wonder when the Obama Administration is going to repudiate the use of courts-martial to prosecute civilians serving with or accompanying an armed force in the field in time of declared war or a contingency operation, or reinstitute a service-connection requirement for trials of military personnel for civilian-type offenses? If these are important steps that strengthen the protection of human rights in Morocco, why aren't they equally important for the U.S.? Double standard?
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