Updated

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has lauded Morocco's 2011 constitution and various measures to better protect the citizens' rights, and urged that they be swiftly applied.

Navi Pillay, speaking to journalists Thursday at the end of a three-day trip, said "many of the promising protections under the constitution have yet to be translated into reality for the people of Morocco."

Independent rights activists say that in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring reforms, police are targeting activists and rolling back human rights improvements.

International human rights groups have criticized the use of torture by police to obtain confessions. The government has denied torture is systemic, saying there are only isolated cases.