Madam President, I would like at the outset to extend
my sincere congratulations to you and the brother
country of the Kingdom of Bahrain on your election as
the first Arab woman in the history of the United
Nations to preside over the General Assembly. I wish
you every success in your tasks during this session and
in realizing our aspirations, and achieving practical and
valuable results regarding items on the agenda.
I would like to avail myself of this occasion to
express my warm thanks to your predecessor, Mr. Jan
Eliasson, for his brilliant presidency of last year’s
session.
Allow me also to seize this opportunity to
reiterate Morocco’s appreciation of Mr. Kofi Annan for
the noble tasks he has been undertaking and for his
tireless efforts throughout his term to consolidate our
Organization’s international position and to revitalize
its role in the maintenance of international peace and
security. We equally appreciate his unfailing support
for regional and international development activities to
ensure the promotion of the United Nations
mechanisms and structures and thus reinforce their
effectiveness.
The Kingdom of Morocco welcomes the
accession of the Republic of Montenegro to
membership of the United Nations and we assure it of
our constructive and continuous cooperation.
This year’s session coincides with the 50th
anniversary of Morocco’s joining the United Nations.
They have been 50 years of clear and concrete
commitment to the purposes and principles of our
Organization aimed at fostering peace and security
worldwide and at consolidating development for the
benefit of all peoples and States, mainly in developing
countries.
Joining the United Nations was one of the first
sovereign decisions Morocco made in the wake of
gaining its independence. It expressed the Kingdom’s
firm belief in the efficacy of multilateral action as one
of the most viable means of managing chronic crises
and as an appropriate tool to face growing international
challenges. It also reflects Morocco’s unfailing
commitment to the values of active solidarity and
fruitful cooperation, as expressed in a speech given by
the late King Mohammed V on 6 November 1956,
when he stated that
“Morocco’s attachment to the principles
underpinning the United Nations reflects its
commitment to supporting freedom and peace
throughout the world and to establishing
international relations on the basis of arbitration
and concord, with no recourse whatsoever to
violence or force, and relying on cooperation and
solidarity rather than on animosity and
discrimination”.
Since joining the United Nations, the Kingdom of
Morocco has endeavoured to contribute significantly to
helping our Organization attain its status as a central
actor in the establishment of international peace and
security, as well as in organizing and promoting
international relations to create a world order built on
cooperation, justice and international legality. The
Kingdom has always been an advocate of the principles
of international law, United Nations resolutions and
multilateral actions emanating from constructive
dialogue and ongoing consultations as the most viable
way to settle international conflicts and crises
peacefully.
06-53323 46
Throughout that period, the Kingdom has
contributed to numerous United Nations peacekeeping
operations in demonstration of its commitment to
international peace and of its deeply rooted belief in
the importance of collective security and of the role of
the United Nations in that field. Today, our country is
contributing to five peacekeeping operations in Africa,
the Caribbean and Europe. That has earned Morocco
the thirteenth position among countries contributing to
peacekeeping operations internationally, the second at
the Arab level and the sixth at the African level.
In addition, the Kingdom of Morocco has
launched a process aimed at establishing active
solidarity among members of the international
community through constructive and fruitful
partnerships between North and South, on the one
hand, and the reinforcement of South-South
cooperation as a strategic priority, on the other, in
order to achieve sustainable and balanced development
for the benefit of all.
The Kingdom of Morocco has further
endeavoured to implement the recommendations
adopted at important United Nations meetings and
conferences on development issues, including the
Millennium Development Goals, which are in full
harmony with our national development strategy. In
that regard, the National Initiative for Human
Development, launched by His Majesty King
Mohammed VI on 18 May 2005, testifies to Morocco’s
willingness to lay the foundations for a development
model that embodies Morocco’s political choices and is
helping to establish a modern and democratic society.
Modernization, democratization and economic
development, as well as sustained human development
indicators, are interdependent in the quest for equitable
opportunities, the dissemination of knowledge and the
provision of basic social services.
Our development initiative places a special
emphasis on the empowerment of the Moroccan citizen
as the focus of comprehensive development, in line
with the Secretary-General’s report of 2005, entitled
“In larger freedom: towards development, security and
human rights for all”.
In that context, and in a spirit guided by universal
principles aimed at creating the necessary harmony
between Morocco’s international commitments and its
national priorities, a workshop on the promotion of
human rights was convened in Morocco. The workshop
was marked by the issuance of specific
recommendations upon the end of the mandate of our
equity and reconciliation commission, in a critical and
transparent evaluation of a specific period of
Morocco’s past with a sense of responsibility and a
constructive vision of its future.
Since its inception, the United Nations has
contributed to the settlement of many international
disputes and the establishment of peace and security in
many regions. However, the Middle East and Africa
still suffer from many conflicts, wars and economic
and social crises that thwart peoples’ natural
aspirations to security, stability and development.
In that regard, and having welcomed the Israeli
withdrawal from Gaza as a first step towards the
establishment of a Palestinian State in accordance with
the road map, Morocco hopes that the current dire
situation, which has led to even more killing and
destruction, will rapidly come to an end. Following the
failure of various international and regional efforts to
resume the peace process and settle the Arab-Israeli
conflict, the Kingdom of Morocco reiterates its call on
the international community, and the Security Council
in particular, to assume their responsibilities in the
search for a comprehensive and lasting solution to the
conflict, in accordance with the terms of reference of
the peace process, relevant United Nations resolutions
and international legality, as well as the principle of
land for peace.
Concerning the military aggression against
brotherly Lebanon and the resultant loss of civilian life
and destruction of infrastructure and service facilities,
Morocco welcomed Security Council resolution 1701
(2006) and expresses its hope that all concerned parties
will cooperate in providing the appropriate political
conditions for a lasting settlement on the basis of the
Taif agreement and the relevant resolutions of the
Security Council. Morocco also calls upon the
international community to provide more cooperation
and solidarity in the reconstruction of Lebanon and to
support the success of efforts to achieve peace and
tranquillity for our brother Lebanese.
As for the situation in the brotherly country of
Iraq, Morocco acknowledges the outcome of the
political process, in which all Iraqi parties and
influential political actors took part. However,
Morocco is still hoping for an end to the ongoing
violence, which continues to bring suffering to
47 06-53323
innocent Iraqi civilians. We hope that our Iraqi brothers
can agree, as soon as possible, on the time and venue
for a conference on Iraqi national accord, which could
help establish a basis for the completion of institutional
reforms thereby ensuring the sovereignty, territorial
integrity, security and stability of a unified and safe
Iraq.
The Kingdom of Morocco, whose head of State,
His Majesty King Mohammed VI, chairs the Al-Quds
Committee of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference, reaffirms its commitment to work together
with all parties towards a just and comprehensive
peace in the Middle East. The achievement of that
objective will depend on the Israeli withdrawal from
all the occupied Arab territories and the establishment
of a Palestinian State, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its
capital, living side by side in peace and security with
the State of Israel.
Morocco firmly believes in dialogue and
negotiations as a means of settling regional and
international disputes. It also considers that resorting to
force, whatever the reason or motives, will not yield
viable solutions or lead to a just, lasting and
comprehensive peace in the Middle East. On the
contrary, it will only exacerbate and prolong the status
quo.
Morocco is equally convinced that peace in the
region can be achieved only if the United Nations
creates the right environment and works to eradicate
the causes of tension and escalation and coordinates
regional and international efforts aimed at reviving the
peace process on all tracks, with a view to ultimately
achieving security and lasting peace. In that way, the
peoples of the region would be able to move towards a
more promising future in which generations to come
can cooperate and live together in harmony.
The African continent is facing a number of
serious threats and major challenges. It is currently
beset by many crises and conflicts that have proved
difficult to resolve. Indeed, half of the armed conflicts
in the world over the past decade have taken place in
Africa, which also hosts half of the world’s refugees.
The continent is also confronted by numerous
economic and social problems, including poverty,
hunger, desertification and infectious diseases, which
threaten the daily lives of millions of people.
This critical situation, which should by no means
be considered inevitable, making Africa a priority for
the United Nations and for international development
programmes and agendas. However, programmes and
initiatives must be better harmonized and coordinated
if they are to create conditions conducive to sustainable
development in Africa. To that end, we must consider
creating an international mechanism that includes
experts in the fields of security and development to
supervise the implementation of the range of
international programmes and initiatives concerning
Africa.
For its part, the Kingdom of Morocco will
continue to support all development efforts in Africa.
His Majesty King Mohammed VI, a champion of peace
and development whose enlightened and far-sighted
vision is based on a full and deep understanding of the
concerns of the continent, has introduced many
initiatives and visited many African countries with the
aim of strengthening the bonds of brotherhood,
cooperation and solidarity among African peoples.
In this regard, Morocco calls for the holding next
year of a high-level dialogue on Africa and
development with a view to further intensifying the
development debate and consultation and establishing
mechanisms to guarantee the implementation of all
international initiatives aimed at making full use of the
continent’s huge economic and human potential in the
service of its development.
In his first address to the General Assembly, His
Majesty the late King Mohammed V declared that the
Kingdom of Morocco had chosen negotiation as the
basis for its international relations, with a view to
reaching mutual agreements, freely arrived at, and
providing for peace, unity and solidarity among
nations. In keeping with that broad vision, the
Kingdom of Morocco has renewed its commitment to
cooperate with the Secretary-General and his Personal
Envoy in order to find a lasting, negotiated and
mutually acceptable political solution to the dispute
over the Moroccan Sahara.
In this respect, and in response to the call of the
Security Council to break the current deadlock and
make progress towards a political, consensus-based
and final solution to the dispute, Morocco will present
an autonomy plan that would enable the inhabitants of
the region to manage their local affairs within the
framework of the national sovereignty and territorial
integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco.
06-53323 48
To that end, nationwide consultations were
launched in November 2005 with all political actors
and local representatives of the region, within the
framework of the Royal Consultative Council for
Saharan Affairs, whose membership has been renewed,
structure modernized and mandate strengthened. This
process has been carried out on the basis of
participation and transparency aimed at encouraging
the adherence of all parties to the notion of autonomy.
This experience is unique in the Arab North African
region.
More than ever, the world needs a more efficient
United Nations that can translate into reality the
aspirations and expectations of all the peoples of the
world, uphold the principles of international legality
and foster the spirit of multilateralism through
innovative mechanisms, value-added components and
new ideas that can yield positive results.
As it has done over the past 50 years, the
Kingdom of Morocco will contribute to strengthening
the principles of the Organization and enhancing its
work in the service of peace, development and accord
among all peoples of the world.