Over the past two decades, thanks to the advocacy of associations defending the rights of women, Morocco has made some progress in the promotion and protection of women's rights. The 2011 constitution consolidated these achievements by advocating for the importance of international conventions ratified by Morocco and devoting more than 18 provisions for gender equality and the fight against violence and discrimination against women.

However, the implementation of the 2011 constitution, which should commit Morocco to a process of harmonizing its legislation and its national policies with CEDAW, has stalled. There has been slow progress towards reform of discriminatory laws, implementation of national policies, and operationalization of mechanisms for the promotion and protection of women's rights.

This shadow report was coordinated by the Democratic Association of Moroccan Women (ADFM) and consists of input from a coalition of 21 NGOs, feminists, and human rights defenders in Morocco. The report addresses concerns regarding the situation of the human rights of women in Morocco and was designed to inform the working group on women's human rights in advance of the 79th Session on CEDAW.

The report addresses several key concerns:

• The implementation of Morocco's international commitments.
• The harmonization of Morocco's legal arsenal with international conventions.
• Public policies and development programs that do not integrate measures required for the real effectiveness of women's rights.
• National mechanisms for recourse and protection of women's rights which are still not operational or do not have the necessary capacities to fully fulfill their mandate.