Rabat, Morocco (TMT)- The Advocacy and Communications Director for Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division, Mr. Ahmed Benchemsi congratulated the Moroccan government, including Moroccan nongovernmental organizations for enacting a new law aimed to provide legal protection to Moroccan house maids.
Benchemsi wrote an article titled “Domestic Workers Finally Have Rights in Morocco” on leading French media outlet Le Monde, also translated to the English and run on Human Rights Watch’s official website.
“This is a real success, for which we should congratulate the government and also—perhaps especially—Moroccan nongovernmental organizations that campaigned for this ground-breaking reform for many years,” Benchemsi wrote.
“Now that the law exists, the next challenge will be making sure it is carried out. For that purpose, the next government (elections are scheduled this fall) will have to establish enforcement mechanisms, in particular labor inspectors who will visit homes where domestic workers are employed. The government will also have to open a broad public awareness campaign, preferably on national television and in Moroccan Arabic – the language most likely to be understood by everyone concerned–so that employees will know their rights and employers they duties,” Benchemsi added.
The Moroccan Times.
