On behalf of the delegation of the Kingdom of Morocco, it is my pleasure to congratulate the President on his election to preside
over the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session. I wish him every success in his tasks. We also commend the distinctive work done by his predecessor, Mr. Abdulla Shahid, and we highly appreciate the outcome of his presidency.
We reiterate our support for the efforts of the Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, to reform our Organization. We express to him our support and backing for his initiatives and proposals contained in his report entitled Our Common Agenda (A/75/982).
The seventy-seventh session of the General Assembly is taking place at a time when our world is witnessing multidimensional crises with global intertwined repercussions. Three years after the onset of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, our world faces a series of deep challenges and successive crises.
What prevents us from managing those crises in an efficient and effective manner is not the fact that we are not aware of their manifestations and interactions, but rather the absence of genuine political will. The multilateral system is currently going through a systemic crisis that manifests itself at three interrelated levels.
The first level relates to the crisis in values, in which the principle of cooperation and solidarity, on which the United Nations was founded, is being undermined due to the prioritization of narrow national interests over universal human values.
The second level is related to the divisions within international institutions, which have become an arena for competition in a way that negatively affects international multilateral action.
The third level relates to the fragmentation of multilateral work in the context of narrow, circumstantial alliances, which are not commensurate with the current complex crises.
The current international situation requires courage and objectivity to answer the following questions. Do we want our Organization to be capable of leading strategic changes and facing the major challenges of our time, or do we want it to be limited to only crisis management? Does our Organization still have the ability to reach an international consensus and find innovative solutions to deal with the current and future challenges of the world?
We would like to say that those who believe that their own capabilities are sufficient alone to contain such challenges are not being realistic. Multilateral work has never been a luxury, and the comprehensive crises that we are experiencing today confirm that and prove that the security and well-being of some depend on the stability and prosperity of others.
The Kingdom of Morocco reiterates its conviction that multilateral action should be based primarily on collective interaction, consensual and renewed approaches, as emphasized by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in his address before the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session, when he said:
“Morocco reaffirms its commitment to support the emergence of a new multilateral system built on international legality, justice and equity and cooperation in social and economic relations, and based on an efficient and dynamic United Nations system.” (A/59/PV4. p.23)
The African continent is the most affected by the repercussions of the difficult economic situation as a result of the global geopolitical crisis, as it bears the brunt of the increase in food and energy prices, which undermines the continent’s gains in the area of sustainable development.
Despite that, Africa has all the components to turn challenges into opportunities and emerge from this crisis stronger. The African continent has significant human and natural resources in addition to the gains and future benefits that it can achieve by implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area. That was affirmed by His Majesty the King in his address at the 28th Ordinary Summit of the African Union when he said:
“We, the peoples of Africa, have the means and the genius, and, together, we can fulfil the aspirations of our peoples.”
In that context, the Kingdom of Morocco calls for promoting international cooperation to serve the interests of African countries by reducing the debt burden and launching integrated development initiatives that will enhance their resilience and resist the shocks of current and future economic crises. The repeated visits of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to several African countries attest to that conviction. His Majesty has launched several cooperation and partnership projects to promote human development,
guarantee food security and bolster economic growth in order to achieve African integration. Under the auspices of His Majesty, the Kingdom of Morocco hosted the fourteenth United States-Africa Business Summit to encourage investment in priority sectors in African countries.
Several countries continue to suffer from the repercussions of COVID-19. The challenge lies in providing a consistent and adequate supply of vaccines and distributing them equitably among all the countries of the world. As part of his commitment to the African affiliation, His Majesty launched a new factory to manufacture COVID-19 and other vaccines, a structural project that will promote the achievement of vaccine sovereignty in the Kingdom of Morocco and throughout the African continent, in line with achieving his Majesty’s vision.
The pandemic has demonstrated that good health and prosperity are not only a main goal of sustainable development but also fundamental conditions and pillars of sustainable development. The Moroccan Government, upon instructions from His Majesty, is implementing and expanding health coverage, benefiting 70 per cent of our people. We hope to cover 100 per cent of the population by the end of the year.
Climate change requires immediate and urgent solutions. Beyond well-intentioned statements, we need to contain this crisis, which is jeopardizing development in many parts of the world and could lead to famine, homelessness and environmental displacement. In that context and in line with His Majesty’s vision, the Kingdom of Morocco has warned of the consequences of the climate crisis on the African continent, which has suffered its greatest impact. It is therefore incumbent upon the developed countries to garner the needed technological and financial resources to support the African States in addressing the consequences of that global challenge.
The Kingdom has decided to increase its nationally determined contribution and reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 45.5 per cent by 2030, in the context of Morocco’s integrated strategy to achieve low- carbon development by 2050. The strategy is aimed at creating a green economy in line with the principles of sustainability, the pillars on which we have built the new development model within the Kingdom. That ambition underpins the Kingdom of Morocco’s intention to uphold the commitments it undertook at the 2016 African Summit in Marrakech, which was held on the sidelines of the twenty-second Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, under the presidency of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, especially with regard to developing capacities in the agricultural sector, adapting to climate change and increasing the use of sustainable energy.
Global tensions will continue to adversely impact the efforts being deployed to achieve food security unless countries develop their domestic capacities to take the new reality into account. In that context, Morocco has been investing in the agricultural sector so that it can adapt to climate change. We have been strengthening South-South cooperation with the African continent, on which nearly half of the world’s unused arable land is located. At the national level, Morocco is implementing the Generation Green 2020-2030 plan under the directives of His Majesty in order achieve food security.
The global security crises are directly affecting human migration throughout the world. In line with His Majesty’s vision, the Kingdom of Morocco is committed to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which was signed in Marrakech in December 2018. In that regard, the Kingdom will continue to demonstrate its solidarity in implementing its national strategy for migration and asylum, which was launched by His Majesty in 2013. In the same vein, Morocco continues to combat human trafficking networks, which represent a serious threat to the sovereignty and stability of States and the security and safety of individuals.
Peacekeeping is one of the most important achievements of the Organization, and we must therefore pool our efforts and capabilities to develop it and guarantee peacekeepers’ safety. In demonstrating his permanent commitment to peacekeeping on the occasion of the sixty-sixth anniversary of the founding of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces, His Majesty gave instructions to create a Moroccan multidisciplinary peacekeeping centre to provide training and support national and foreign capacities, especially on the African continent, in partnership with the United Nations and several friendly countries, in order to promote the principles of international peace and security.
Gender equality and the promotion of the rights of women and their full participation in decision-making are preconditions to overcoming current and future global challenges. In line with that and with His Majesty’s vision, Morocco is working to promote gender equality as the foundation for a fair and democratic society. His Majesty has given new momentum to gender equality through the full implementation of the provisions of the Moroccan Family Code. The Kingdom has also launched the first national plan of action for women, peace and security, as an integrated political framework for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), based on our belief in the importance of the full participation of women in preventing and settling conflicts.
The Kingdom of Morocco reiterates its commitment to finding a definitive political solution to the contrived regional conflict over the Moroccan Sahara, which should be based on the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the only solution to this conflict, while respecting the territorial integrity and the national sovereignty of the Kingdom. Since we introduced that serious and realistic initiative in 2007, it has been supported by the Security Council and more than 90 States.
In the southern regions, the Kingdom is implementing a new development model launched by His Majesty in 2015. All those living in the region are participating fully in every stage of its implementation through their democratically elected representatives in the local councils of the Moroccan Sahara.
The active participation of the inhabitants of the Moroccan Sahara in its political, social and economic aspects of life attests to their attachment to the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Moroccan Sahara. In adhering to the statement made by His Majesty King Mohammed VI on the forty-sixth anniversary of the Green March, the Kingdom of Morocco reaffirms its full support for the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara to relaunch a series of round tables, in the same format and with the same participants, to reach a realistic and lasting political solution based on consensus and in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions, especially, most recently, resolution 2602 (2021). The serious and well-intentioned participation of Algeria in those round tables and the acknowledgement of its responsibility in creating and pursuing the contrived conflict will be the first prerequisite to reaching a final political settlement of the issue.
The Kingdom of Morocco expresses once again its deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation and the absence of the rule of law in the Tindouf camps. In blatant violation of international humanitarian law, Algeria has ceded its responsibilities over that part of its territory to armed separatist militias that have documented links to dangerous terrorist networks in the Sahel region. We again call on the international community to urge Algeria to respond to the calls made by the Security Council since 2011 and allow the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to organize a census and register the inhabitants of the Tindouf camps.
In a letter that he sent on 20 December 2020 to His Excellency Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, His Majesty King Mohammed VI reiterated the steadfast position of Morocco in support of the Palestinian question, called for the implementation of two-State solution, for which there is international consensus, and reiterated Morocco’s commitment to the negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli parties as the only way to reach a final, lasting and comprehensive solution to the conflict.
In his capacity as Chair of the Jerusalem Committee of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, His Majesty reaffirmed that Morocco would spare no effort to preserve the historical identity of Jerusalem as a locus of coexistence and peace, continue to safeguard its special status, uphold respect for freedom of religion for the followers of the three monotheistic religions and defend the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Based on our commitment to improving the living conditions of the Palestinians, His Majesty led mediation efforts that culminated in the agreement to maintain the Allenby Bridge, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, linking the West Bank and Jordan, continuously open. That will have a positive impact on the daily lives of Palestinians and facilitate the movement of people and goods.
Given its shared destiny with the State of Libya and in order to build on the positive momentum created by the Skhirat Agreement and Bouznika talks, the Kingdom of Morocco will pursue efforts to reach a peaceful settlement to the conflict in that brotherly country, in line with His Majesty’s vision. We are committed to finding a Libyan-led solution to the crisis, without any foreign interference or agenda.
The Kingdom of Morocco welcomes the appointment of Mr. Abdullah Bathily as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, and reaffirms its full commitment to working with him and effectively contributing to efforts enabling the
Libyan stakeholders to reach the necessary agreements and organize parliamentary and presidential elections as the sole means to overcoming the current situation.
The scope of today’s challenges will require us to make one of two choices. Either we disregard the current crises facing the world, or we intensify our efforts to address them constructively and effectively. Our collective decisions will have a decisive impact on the lives of present and future generations.
The Kingdom of Morocco, in line with His Majesty’s vision and our actions since we joined the United Nations upon gaining independence, the Kingdom of Morocco will continue to uphold its commitments.