CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION AND MODERNIZATION IN MOROCCO’S PRISONS

Project Title: Conflict Transformation and Modernization in Morocco’s Prisons

Years: September 2012 –  December 2015

Donor: European Union (EU)

Target regions: Morocco

Difficult living conditions, overcrowding, and management issues within the Moroccan prison system expose the guards and detainees to significant risks. Prison staff has limited resources and training to manage the situation. Individual conflicts and tensions among detainees- between detainees and staff, or even between staff themselves- are always liable to occur. To promote human rights and reforms for detainees, both groups must learn to manage conflict constructively. We are therefore working to encourage constructive approaches to conflict resolution and modernize the penitentiary system in Morocco.

We are engaging with prison directors and managers, guards as well as detainees by means of a series of trainings and dialogues on conflict transformation, detainees’ rights, and the reintegration of detainees back into society. We are also working with our various partners to bring the penitentiary system in line with international standards regarding detainees’ rights. The ultimate goal of this project is to reduce the high rates of recidivism by improving the ability of detainees to manage conflicts and disputes effectively when they are in prison and after their release.

We have previously worked with 14 prisons throughout the country to train prison directors, prison administration staff, and detainees in techniques and mechanisms for managing conflict. Today, we are working in 34 prisons, which is half of all the prisons in Morocco. This project will facilitate the formation of a national platform on the state of human rights in prisons, good governance, and prison reform in Morocco.

This project is funded by the European Union and implemented in partnership with the General Delegation of Penitentiary Administration and Reintegration, the Foundation Mohammed VI for the Reintegration of Detainees, and the Rabita Mohammadia of Moroccan scholars.