Language and Identity: The U.N. Weighs In on Morocco

There's been an interesting development in what I like to call Morocco's language and identity conundrum.  The U.N's Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued a statement calling on Morocco to recognize Tamazight as an official language.  It's a remarkable piece of good news for the Imazighen.  International recognition is sometimes needed to exert pressure on those who hold the purse strings or serve as the regulatory gatekeepers.  I'm impressed by the Amazigh lobby's audacity to present its case to a much wider audience.  This pronouncement may just be one of many to come and may not reach its full potential, but it is nonetheless noteworthy. Speaking to the "international community" may help recruit more advocates and funding.

The Kingdom seems to be in agreement with promoting Tamazight through the newly formed Institut Royal de la Culture Amazigh, but some within the Amazigh community may feel that progress is much too slow.  From what I can understand, a number of recommendations were presented to the committee who then endorsed certain provisions.  I mentioned earlier in my first Language and Identity blog that there were activists pushing for the constitution to be written in Tamazight.  I don't think that option was presented, but the one granting Tamazight official status in the constitution was and the U.N. has agreed to back it.

Another issue that I have heard come up often among those closely aligned with their Amazigh roots is the restrictions on the issuance of names.  Currently under Moroccan law, Amazigh names are not permitted because they do not fall within what a judge deems to be "Moroccan".  The Amazigh argue that Amazigh names are Moroccan and that their names are more Moroccan than those sanctioned by the state, which tends to favor Arab names.  Recommendation #7 addresses this issue, which should shine more light on the law and perhaps lead to a restoration of Amazigh names.  It's bizarre to me that a government would burden itself over something like names, but it just goes to show how issues of identity are entrenched in Moroccan society and manifested in government policy.  I have not seen an official response from the government on the recent requests on Maghrebia as of yet.  I got the article from the Morocco Board News Service.  It is still fairly new.  Who knows?  Maybe these recommendations by the U.N. will bolster their claims and accelerate a redress to their demands.

One thing is for sure.  These "requirements" as the article states are bound to arouse a lot of debate about what Morocco,was, is, and will be.  The conundrum continues.


U.N. URGES MOROCCO TO INCLUDE TAMAZIGHT AS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

Washington / Morocco Board News Service - On August 27, 2010 , at its seventy-seventh session, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CRED) examined the reports submitted by Morocco in accordance with Article 9th of the UN Convention.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CRED) of the United Nations has issued the following requirements from Morocco.

1 – To provide information on the composition of its population, the use of mother tongues, languages commonly spoken, and other indicators of ethnic diversity, and any other information from targeted socio-economic studies, conducted on a voluntary basis, in full respect of privacy and anonymity, so that the committee can evaluate the situation of the Moroccan population economically, socially and culturally.

2 – To enshrine in Morocco’s constitution the principle of the primacy of international treaties over domestic legislation, to allow individuals to invoke in Moroccan courts the relevant provisions of the Convention.

3 – Add a provision in the Moroccan criminal code for those crimes committed with a racist motive to be considered as an aggravating circumstance of racial discrimination.

4 – To step up its efforts to promote the Amazigh language and culture and its teaching, and to take the necessary measures to ensure that the Amazigh people are not victims of any form of racial discrimination.

5 – To consider the inclusion in the Moroccan Constitution of the Amazigh language as an official language and also to ensure that the Moroccan government literacy efforts are done in the Amazigh language.

6 – To put special emphasis on the economic development of the areas inhabited by the Amazigh people.

7 – To clarify the meaning and the scope in its legislation regarding the concept of " the Moroccan character of given names " and to ensure full implementation by the local administrations of the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior March-2010-circular relating to the choice of first names, to ensure the inclusion of all names, especially the Amazigh ones.

8 – To revise the Moroccan Nationality Code to allow Moroccan women to transmit their nationality to their foreign spouses on equal terms with men of Moroccan nationality.

9 – To take necessary measures to ensure the full implementation of the Family Code uniformly throughout the national territory and to protect the most vulnerable categories of its population, especially women and children living in remote areas, who can be victims of double or multiple discriminations.

Source: http://www.moroccoboard.com/news/34-news-release/1176-un-urges-morocco-to-include-tamazight-as-an-official-language