Written question asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour) on Wednesday, 22 July 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 5 August 2026. It was answered by Lord Wood of Anfield (Labour) on Thursday, 30 July 2026 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Morocco: Human Rights

Question: 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.

Answer

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.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: HL2616
Session: 2026-27
Subjects: Human rights Journalism Morocco Surveillance
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Morocco: Human Rights

Secondary information

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