Universal Rights, Systemic Violations, and Cultural Relativism in Morocco

This study explores the role played by the Moroccan state in the drafting process of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Author Osire Glacier examines whether universal rights follow logically from the colonial experience and exist as a form of cultural imperialism. By juxtaposing the Moroccan state's systemic practice of torture with its discourse of cultural relativism, she reveals that popular resistance to universal rights, expressed via discourses of relativism and cultural authenticity, correspond to a deliberate form of politics aimed at delegitimizing those very same rights. Ultimately, she challenges critics condemning universal rights as neocolonial to produce new perspectives that can support a more inclusive system protecting universal rights.