Morocco: Human Rights

(asked on 22nd July 2026) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise instances of the use of Pegasus spyware against journalists, foreign politicians and human rights activities with the government of Morocco.


Answered by
Lord Wood of Anfield Portrait
Lord Wood of Anfield
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 30th July 2026

While we do not comment on the use of Pegasus against individuals, to address the risks posed by the proliferation and misuse of commercial cyber intrusion capabilities (CCICs), the UK and France launched the Pall Mall Process in 2024 to promote responsible behaviour across the CCIC market, bringing together states, industry, civil society and academia. In 2025, it launched a voluntary non-binding Code of Practice for States, which set recommendations for governments as regulators, customers and users of these capabilities.

On 21 July 2026, the Process began negotiations on Industry Guidelines to establish voluntary expectations for organisations involved in the development, sale, purchase and use of CCICs. The Process rejects the participation of organisations and entities under international sanctions or similar restrictions.

We have an ongoing Human Rights Dialogue with Morocco, our latest iteration was in November 2025. In our dialogue we discuss a range of issues bilaterally, including freedom of expression, rights of minorities, women's rights, media freedom, and judicial reforms.

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