Moroccan Cities Clash: Wedding Halls Spark Noise Pollution Crisis and Human Rights Debate

The noise of music, sometimes prolonged until dawn, and the use of firecrackers directly affect the quality of life of the residents. Testimonies report of elderly and sick people struggling to find calm, and of infants whose sleep is disturbed. A resident summarizes the problem: "The problem is not the wedding or the party, but the authorization given to these halls in overcrowded neighborhoods, when their natural place is outside the cities."

Seized by numerous complaints, the Moroccan Center for Human Rights (CMDH) has taken a stand on the issue. Interviewed by Al3omk, its president, Abdelilah El Khadri, states that this phenomenon "infringes on the fundamental rights of citizens". He specifies that "the right of residents to tranquility and peace is a natural extension of the constitutional rights to physical and psychological security as well as to quality of life". According to him, the halls that operate without respecting the rules generate "psychological and health damages as well as social tensions".

Faced with this observation, the CMDH has formulated a series of concrete proposals. The NGO advocates a revision of the specifications of the banquet halls to impose strict standards, such as mandatory sound insulation, the setting of closing hours and the prohibition of outdoor loudspeakers. It also calls for the implementation of night control tours carried out jointly by the local authorities and the police, and a system of sanctions ranging from warning to license withdrawal.

For Abdelilah El Khadri, the heart of the problem does not lie in a legal void but rather "in their application". He points to "the weakness of control and the hesitation of the authorities to impose sanctions", which would have allowed the phenomenon to worsen. He concludes that this is an issue of justice, considering that "rendering justice to the affected persons is a legal and moral duty of the public authorities".