Political Risk:
Critical
Score:
11/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
0/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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Article 54 of the 2011 Constitution established the Moroccan High Security Council (Conseil Supérieur de Sécurité du Maroc) (1), however, little is known about…
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Although parliament has no formal powers over defence policy, under Art.70 of the Moroccan Constitution, it has the authority to assess public policies to…
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This indicator has been marked Not Applicable, becuse of the absence of parliamentary power over defence policy. None of the following statements apply: The…
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Q2
0/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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Article 55 Section VIII of the August 2013 Internal Regulations of the Lower Chamber of Parliament (Chambre des Représentants) states that out of the…
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There is no Ministry of Defence in Morocco; instead there is a National Defence Administration (Administration de la Défense Nationale). Most members of the…
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The information available on the website of the Chamber of Representatives (1) only refers to activities undertaken during the current term of office (2016-2021),…
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The Commission on Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Islamic Affairs and Moroccan Residents Abroad does not exercise any short-term oversight over defence policy and is…
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No evidence that the Commission on Foreign Affairs, national defence, Islamic affairs and Moroccan residents abroad conducts or commissions any long-term investigations over defence…
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This sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable because, although the Commission on Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Islamic Affairs and Moroccan Residents Abroad does theoretically…
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Q3
6/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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The defence policy or security strategy has not been debated at all in the last year, neither by the executive, the legislature, nor the…
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The defence policy or security strategy has not been debated at all in the last year, neither by the executive, the legislature, nor the…
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No evidence of a formal consultation process on defence policy and security strategy in Morocco was found.
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Documents on the defence policy or security strategy are not released to the public at all (1)(2)(3). No documents about defence policy or security…
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Q4
17/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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There is no formal or informal policy that requires openness towards CSOs in the defence sector (1). Recent policies advocating for more openness towards…
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CSOs benefit from a range of protections against government interference, and are able to operate within the country (1). Article 12 of the 2011…
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No evidence was found to show that defence and security institutions have specifically worked with CSOs on issues of corruption, whether on a regular…
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Q5
100/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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Q6
0/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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– No evidence of a regular, active and public debate on issues of defence among academics was found (1)(2)(3)(4) – No evidence of a…
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No evidence of government engagement in public discourse about defence issues was found, as reported by: – the press (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9) – CSOs (10)(11)(12) –…
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Q7
25/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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The general anti-corruption policy is vague and shows shortcomings in its implementation. No evidence shows that it applies to the defence sector, as it…
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Morocco does not have an anti-corruption policy that also applies to the defence sector. Therefore this sub-indicator is Not Applicable.
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Q8
0/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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With regards to an effective anti-corruption policy for the defence sector, there was no evidence of compliance; there were no ethical units and not…
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This sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable because so far, the evidence gathered shows that there are no independent, well-resourced, or effective institutions within…
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This sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable because so far, the evidence gathered shows that there are no independent, well-resourced, or effective institutions within…
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Q9
NA/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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Q10
0/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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No evidence of a defence-specific assessment of corruption risk that has been commissioned or taken place in the last 2-3 years was found (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)
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Risk assessments are not conducted, and this sub-indicator is therefore Not Applicable
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Risk assessments are not conducted, and this sub-indicator is therefore Not Applicable
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Defence Budgets
Q11
0/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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No evidence of a publicly available defined process for acquisition planning was found in official sources such as websites of the Moroccan government or…
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There is no transparency surrounding the acquisition planning process.
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No evidence of a national or foreign body in charge of externally overseeing the acquisition planning process was found: The mandate of institutions responsible…
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Q12
NEI/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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According to page 1538 of the 2018 Budget Law, the defence budget is divided into two categories: ‘staff’ and ‘equipment and various spendings’ (1).…
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This indicator has not been assigned a score due to insufficient information or evidence. Based on the lack of information, this sub-indicator is marked…
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Q13
0/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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There is no Defence committee within Parliament. However, there is a parliamentary Commission on Foreign Affairs, national defence, Islamic affairs and Moroccan residents abroad.(1)(2)However,…
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The defence committee has no formal powers, therefore this sub-indicator is Not Applicable.
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Q14
17/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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The approved 2018 Budget Law (and its draft submitted by the Ministry of Finance) is proactively published for the public in French and Arabic…
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The approved 2018 Budget Law (and its draft submitted by the Ministry of Finance) is proactively published for the public in French and Arabic…
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Both individuals interviewed on this topic reported that it was impossible to obtain any detailed information on the defence budget (1)(2). This statement was…
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Q15
8/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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According to the 2018 Budget Law, only one isolated article entitled ‘Various income’ (ref. 1.1.0.0.034.000) refers to income sources that come from outside central…
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No evidence of institutional scrutiny (such as from bodies referring to the High Commissioner’s Office for Planning, the General Treasury, or the National Audit…
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No evidence of public scrutiny of non-central government sources of funding by national and international media was found. (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10). No evidence of public scrutiny…
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Q16
NEI/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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This indicator has not been assigned a score due to insufficient information or evidence. No information about internal audit of defence ministry expenditure is…
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This indicator has not been assigned a score due to insufficient information or evidence. There is no internal audit of the defence ministry’s expenditure.
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This indicator has not been assigned a score due to insufficient information or evidence. There is no internal audit of the defence ministry’s expenditure.
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This indicator has not been assigned a score due to insufficient information or evidence. There is no internal audit of the defence ministry’s expenditure.
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Q17
0/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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No evidence about external audit of defence ministry expenditure was found: Moroccan authorities in general do not disclose this information. Moreover, institutions in charge…
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As there is no internal audit of the defence ministry’s expenditure, this sub-indicator is marked Not Applicable.
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As there is no internal audit of the defence ministry’s expenditure, this sub-indicator is marked Not Applicable.
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As there is no internal audit of the defence ministry’s expenditure, this sub-indicator is marked Not Applicable.
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
13/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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There are no legal restrictions on defence institutions or individuals having controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation…
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The Moroccan armed forces have been stationed in Western Sahara since the beginning of the war in 1974 (1)This region is rich in phosphates…
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This indicator has not been assigned a score due to insufficient information or evidence.
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These interests are not mentioned in the 2018 Budget law (1)(2). These interests are not taken into account by auditing and accounting public bodies…
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These interests are not subject to scrutiny by auditing and accounting public bodies such as the National Audit Office and the Royal Treasury (1)(2).…
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Organised Crime
Q19
25/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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Both interviewees stated the difficulty (bordering on the impossible) to investigate an organised crime among the Moroccan armed forces. Although they alluded to potential…
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No evidence was found in the media or prosecution reports to suggest that the government is alert and prepared to address organised crime within…
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Q20
25/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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Interviewees referred to the ‘fifth office’ (5e bureau), an internal body within the military tasked with preventing ‘influence of foreign forces’ on the Moroccan…
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Interviewees noted that, in some cases, individual involvement in trafficking conducted by military personnel was overlooked by the military and civil authorities because of…
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Interviewees noted that in some cases, individual involvement in trafficking conducted by military personnel was overlooked by the military and civil authorities because of…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
0/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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No evidence was found, either from government sources or non-government sources such as interviews, media and CSOs reports, of effective and independent oversight of…
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As there is no independent oversight of the intelligence service’s policies, administration and budgets, this sub-indicator is marked Not Applicable.
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Q22
0/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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The lack of transparency and clear selection criteria for senior positions within the intelligence service suggests that these positions have so far been filled…
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The heads of the different intelligence services are appointed directly and personally by the King without any public justification. The current Head of the…
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The heads of the different intelligence services are appointed directly and personally by the King without any public justification. The current Head of the…
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Export Controls
Q23
0/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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As of September 2018, Morocco had not yet signed the Arms Trade Treaty (2013), or the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls and Conventional Arms…
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This sub-indicator is scored Not Applicable as Morocco has not signed up to the ATT. (1)
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This sub-indicator is scored Not Applicable as Morocco is not an ams exporter according to SIPRI data for 2015-2018.
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Lobbying in Defence
Law n° 06-99 on the freedom of pricing and concurrence dating from June 2000 outlines for the creation of a Concurrence Council (1). A…
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As the country does not have legislation that regulates lobbying in the defence sector, this sub-indicator is marked as Not Applicable.
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As the country does not have legislation that regulates lobbying in the defence sector, this sub-indicator is marked as Not Applicable.
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As the country does not have legislation that regulates lobbying in the defence sector, this sub-indicator is marked as Not Applicable.
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