Implement Legal Frameworks on Public Consulation and Volunteering (MO0043)

CHALLENGE The absence of a legal framework on public consultation, for the implementation of articles 12 and 13 of the Moroccan Constitution of 2011, and this legal void leads to a dispersion of the State’s efforts in this field. This also leads to the disparity in the methodology for organizing public consultation activities by public administrations and elected institutions. As a result, civil society organizations are unable to adequately participate in the process of preparation, monitoring and evaluation of decisions, projects and public policies; The absence of a specific legal framework that regulates volunteering in Morocco and that stipulates the rights and obligations of volunteers as well as entities that organize the volunteering work.

PROPOSED SOLUTION 1. Preparation and submission of the draft law on public consultation to the legislative procedure for approval in order to : • ▪Introduce the modalities of participation of civil society organizations and citizens in the preparation, monitoring and evaluation of decisions and public policies through mechanisms of dialogue and consultation • ▪Adopt specific provisions on the rights, commitments and obligations of stakeholders involved in the public consultation process, while specifying the principles and objectives on which the process is based. 2. Preparation and submission of the draft law on contractual volunteering to the legislative procedure for approval in order to: • ▪Regulate contractual volunteering, by specifying the duties of entities organizing the contractual volunteering towards the volunteers, and the commitments of the volunteers towards these entities. Additionally, it should define the process for issuing and terminating a volunteering contract. It should also include provisions for national coordination and international cooperation in the field of contractual volunteering; • Put in place legal provisions to strengthen the effective participation of youth in particular, and citizens in general, in community development, and create a dynamic in favor of volunteer work. It is worth noting that during the year 2020, a large consultation was conducted with many government departments, constitutional institutions and civil society organizations about the draft law on contractual volunteering. The results of these consultancy meetings were collected and analyzed along with international best practices in order to elaborate the first version of the draft law on volunteerism.

EXPECTED RESULTS Encourage the participation of civil society organizations, citizens and social actors in public decision-making. These organizations should be also committed to take into consideration the outcomes of public consultation processes; • Promotion of the practice of public consultation in a transparent, credible, effective and beneficial manner for decision making; • Promotion of the effective participation of citizens in societal development and create a dynamic of support for the consolidation of the contractual volunteer work ; • ▪Encourage citizens to participate in public action, to contribute to the development of intangible capital, to create wealth, and to support public policy priorities in all its dimensions; • ▪Strengthen trust and solidarity among members of society, which will contribute to achieving the sustainable and integrated human development goals; • Encourage young people to volunteer • Open new horizons for large and dynamic volunteering and for community life .

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Number of consultative events with government departments, public institutions, constitutional institutions and civil society organizations in order to elaborate draft laws on public consultation and volunteering ; • Percentage of recommendations received from the above-mentioned consultative meetings that were included in the two draft laws ; • ▪Approval of the two draft laws by the Secretariat-General of the Government ; • ▪Adoption of the two proposed draft laws by the Council of Government ; • ▪Submission of the two proposed draft laws to the Parliament.

IMPACT INDICATORS Number of organized public consultation operations ; • Rate of public consultation outcomes taken into account ; • Number of volunteering contracts that have been issued.

See action plan for milestone activities.

Action Plan Review

Commitment 19. Implement a Legal Framework for Public Consultation and Contractual Volunteering

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Modest

Results Report

Commitment 19. Implement a Legal Framework for Public Consultation and Contractual Volunteering

This commitment sought to strengthen citizen participation through the implementation of legal frameworks related to public consultation and contractual volunteering. The law on volunteering right 06.18 ^[156] was successfully completed through extensive public consultation, led by the advocacy movement MIRLA (milestone 1) ^[157] and resulted in the promulgation of the law 06.18 the 26 of July 2021 ^[158], and its regulations the 6 of April 2023 (milestone 2). ^[159] The second aim on implementing a legal framework on public consultations has faced delays. A draft was prepared internally based on recommendations from various networks, but the scope of consultation needs a larger expansion, which delayed the process. ^[160]

Ismail Ilsouk ^[161], Executive Director of the NGO Simsim, highlighted the critical importance of establishing a legal framework for civic space and public consultation. He views it as a fundamental foundation for advancing civic participation in the country. However, he expressed perplexity regarding the delays in this process. Mr. Ilsouk noted that numerous NGOs and networks, including Simsim ^[162], actively contributed to the development of the legislative text and shared a memo on public consultation ^[163]. He believes that the ministry had the necessary resources to expedite the process. This sentiment was echoed by Charlotte Adam, an OECD representative, who noted that they had organized training sessions, and initially, everything was progressing on schedule, but inexplicably, the process came to a halt, leaving them puzzled about the reasons behind the interruption. ^[164] This commitment has not yet achieved notable results as the milestone with the greatest potential to open government, to create a legal framework for public participation, was not completed.