On October 31st, during the public oral question session of the House of Representatives, the Minister of the Interior Abdelouafi Laftit confirmed that the current national legislative framework regulating firearms in Morocco has become outdated and unable to regulate all actions and incidents associated with their use, stating that it adopts penalties that are not dissuasive.
He also added that the current legal texts had become outdated in a number of its requirements, following Morocco’s ratification on 17 April 2009 of the Protocol against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, parts, components, and ammunition, complemeting the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.
The minister also stated that in order to keep up with the country’s projects at all levels and to engage with all those involved in the field of firearms, law 86.21 on firearms had been drafted.
Laftit highlighted that this draft, approved by the House of Representatives Internal Affairs Committee, aims to modernize and improve the legal arsenal related to firearms so that it can keep up with various recent legal, procedural, and technological changes and developments.
He explained that the project seeks to address the security challenges that this field faces, especially with the noticeable development in the manufacturing, import, export, trading, and possession of firearms, both legally and illegally.