I should like at the outset to express heartfelt
congratulations to you, Sir, on your election as
President of the General Assembly at its present
session, as well as my best wishes for every success
during your tenure. I also wish to thank Her Excellency
Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa for her constructive
and tireless efforts during her remarkable and fruitful
presidency at the previous session, which was a source
of pride for her country, Bahrain, and for the
international community.
As this is the first session of the General
Assembly under our newly appointed Secretary-
General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, I should like to reaffirm,
on behalf of the Kingdom of Morocco, our full
confidence in and support for his tireless efforts and
good offices aimed at enabling the United Nations to
attain its lofty objectives and to fulfil the aspirations of
all nations. It is our hope that, at the dawn of the third
millennium, a more just and effective world system can
emerge, enabling nations to achieve collective peace
and sustainable development.
Our session takes place at the eve of the
celebration by the United Nations of the sixtieth
anniversary of two important historical events that
have marked its activities, forged its identity and
proved its added value and its outstanding contribution
to strengthening international cooperation, protecting
human dignity and consolidating world peace and
security. These events are the General Assembly’s
adoption in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and the deployment of the first United
Nations peacekeeping operation in that same year. In
this context, it is appropriate to pause and take stock of
what has been done in these two vital areas, and to
outline the work objectives of our Organization in
order to develop and optimize our common assets in a
complex international melieu.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights laid
the foundations of international consensus regarding
universal values and subsequently contributed to
international efforts for the codification, protection and
respect of basic cultural, social, economic and political
rights. To this end, the international community is
invited, through the United Nations, to take concrete
measures to implement the provisions of this
Declaration and give effect to confirm concretely its
political and legal values.
In that connection, His Majesty King Mohammed
VI stated in a royal address on 9 December 1999 that
among the appropriate means of ensuring respect for
human rights was the commitment to the relevant
international covenants and the setting up of
mechanisms for respecting and safeguarding these
rights. He added that those legal and institutional
instruments were, however, insufficient if respect for
human rights was not part of standard conduct at all
levels, or if, in other words, it did not become a shared
culture.
The Kingdom of Morocco has embarked, under
His Majesty’s enlightened leadership, on a thorough
and ambitious process of political openness, human
development and social modernization. In parallel, it is
willing to participate in constructive international
efforts aimed at establishing world consensus on
human rights concepts, so that they no longer
constitute a source of conflict and confrontation but are
rather a motive for cooperation and consultation. Those
concepts should not remain mere universal values but
should become a reality, taking into consideration the
diversity and indivisibility of human rights.
In this regard, the Kingdom of Morocco proposed
last March, in the Human Rights Council, the adoption
of a universal declaration on training and education in
the culture of human rights, whose objective would be
to consolidate and reinforce the values, principles and
concepts of human rights by all international social
components, so that they become a daily concern and a
responsible practice. Morocco hopes that this proposal
will be supported by all States, so that it may constitute
a valuable contribution to the celebration of the sixtieth
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
rights.
Peacekeeping operations are a key element of the
activities of the United Nations, embodying the
collective security principle that is one of the pillars of
the United Nations Charter. Thanks to this mechanism,
the United Nations has displayed a great capacity to
adapt to change and has been able to participate in a
direct and effective manner in the reinforcement of
international peace.
The importance of peacekeeping operations has
increased with the evolution of the traditional concept
and the accumulation of tasks, which are no longer
limited to peacekeeping per se. These tasks have also
broadened in scope to encompass assistance to States
undergoing reconstruction or engaged in the
implementation of transitional justice, the
consolidation of human rights, or good governance.
In this respect, the Kingdom of Morocco has been
a pioneer in United Nations peacekeeping efforts,
sending since 1960 more than 50,000 Blue Helmets to
13 peacekeeping operations across four continents.
Thanks to their sacrifice and determination to uphold
the principles of the United Nations, the Royal Armed
Forces, along with the other peacekeeping troops,
helped the United Nations to win the Nobel Peace
prize.
In view of its cumulative experience and field
expertise, the Kingdom of Morocco believes that it is
high time to examine ways and means of reinforcing
the legal basis and organizational framework of
peacekeeping operations, while taking into
consideration the changes undergone by this United
Nations mechanism, as well as the need for
improvement of the deployment conditions and work
arrangements of its personnel.
Accordingly, the Kingdom of Morocco proposes
the organization next year of a high-level meeting to
examine this issue in all its aspects, with a view to
adopting recommendations for the development of new
norms and work arrangements that will ensure the
success of peacekeeping operations.
Despite its efforts, Africa still faces major
security challenges and significant difficulties in
improving the health and living conditions of its
citizens. Given its deep-rooted African identity and its
profound historical, human and cultural ties with
African States, the Kingdom of Morocco has, as
directed by His Majesty the King, made its relations
with the continent one of the priorities of its foreign
policy. These relations are based on the principles of
mutual respect, active solidarity, fruitful cooperation
and constructive involvement in the regional initiatives
and international strategies related to the continent.
Besides participating in development
programmes aimed at effectively revitalizing South-
South cooperation and undertaking numerous solidarity
activities with African States victims of natural
disasters, the Kingdom of Morocco hosted the first
African Conference on Human Development, held in
April 2007 in Rabat in cooperation with the United
Nations Development Programme. The Conference
created an opportunity to establish a complementary
strategy to meet the particular needs of Africa in the
context of achieving the Millennium Development
Goals.
In this regard, the Rabat Declaration on human
development and the plan of action and
recommendations of the Conference, constitute a
framework of reference for the holding next year of a
high-level meeting on Africa and development, as
proposed by Morocco. Likewise, the conclusions of the
Rabat Conference could contribute significantly to the
work of the World Millennium Development Goals
summit to be held next year in response to a proposal
made by the United Kingdom Prime Minister.
Morocco expresses the hope that the Secretary-
General’s next report on the causes of conflicts and the
promotion of peace and sustainable development in
Africa will contain practical recommendations and a
clear political vision aimed at the reinforcement of
stability, peace and security on the African continent,
the consolidation of democracy and human rights,
respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
African States, and the peaceful settlement of disputes
in accordance with the principle of good
neighbourliness.
The Moroccan Sahara issue, one of the longest
regional disputes in Africa, is at a historical turning
point as a result of the launching of the Manhassett
negotiations between the parties to the dispute, held
under United Nations auspices. This turning point
results from the dynamic created by the Moroccan
autonomy plan for Moroccan Shara, a plan which has
opened promising perspectives for overcoming the
stalemate on this issue at the United Nations. It offers
the fundamental elements necessary for a realistic,
applicable, definitive and final political solution to a
regional dispute that has hindered the development of a
strong and homogeneous Maghreb that interacts with
its geopolitical and geostrategic environment.
The Moroccan autonomy plan, which since 2004
has answered the calls by the Security Council for the
need to find a political solution to that dispute, is in
conformity with the provisions of international law. It
is the result of wide-ranging international consultations
and in-depth deliberations involving inhabitants of the
region through the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan
Affairs.
In the light of that positive dynamic, the Security
Council adopted resolution 1754 (2007), which
represented a departure from former approaches in the
treatment of the issue, since it called for negotiations
while taking into account recent developments, in
particular the Moroccan plan and the efforts of the
Kingdom which the Security Council has recognized as
serious and credible.
The Kingdom of Morocco, which took part in
those negotiations in good faith and with an open and
constructive attitude, reiterates its commitment to
advance the process in order to reach a final solution to
the dispute within the framework of its national
sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as on the
basis of the autonomy plan, as the ultimate objective of
the negotiation process and as an open, flexible and
indivisible offer. The solution to this regional dispute
in the light of the Moroccan plan would lead to the
creation of a stable regional security order, based on
cooperation between the States of the region, which
would deal with the serious security challenges of the
region, including terrorism, human trafficking and
other clandestine activities. The impact of such
activities will go beyond the region and will affect
European, Mediterranean and West African countries
as well.
The difficult circumstances in the Middle East
require strengthened coordinated efforts in order to put
an end to a lengthy and bitter conflict that has caused
great suffering for the people of the region for more
than half a century.
The Kingdom of Morocco, which follows closely
all those developments, affirms once again from this
rostrum the pressing need to reactivate the peace
process in the Middle East according to a
comprehensive approach and on the basis of
agreements signed by the parties, the Road Map and
the Arab Peace Initiative. That is a strategic choice and
reflects the sincere will of the Arab States to search for
a just and lasting peace in the Middle East a peace
that guarantees the national rights of the Palestinian
people, including the right to establish an independent
State, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, and
withdrawal from occupied Arab territories in Syria and
Lebanon, in order to allow the States and peoples of
the region to live in peace and security.
Morocco is optimistic about the positive results
that will ensure from the international conference on
Middle East peace to be held in the United States
before the end of this year. Moreover, the Kingdom of
Morocco, which chairs the Al-Quds Committee in the
person of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, insists
once more on the need to respect the special status of
Jerusalem and to preserve its cultural and spiritual
identity. In that respect, His Majesty King Mohammed
VI has endeavoured to draw the attention of the United
Nations and influential actors to the illegal, invalid
archaeological excavations around the Al-Aqsa
Mosque and to obtain their good offices so as to put an
end to them.
The Kingdom of Morocco follows with great
concern the difficult situation in the brotherly country
of Iraq and calls upon the various sects and factions to
allow the virtues of wisdom and clear-sightedness to
prevail, through serious dialogue and national
reconciliation with the aim of preserving the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq and in order
to put an end to the cycle of violence threatening its
stability, security and its unity.
Finally, I wish to recall that the world is
undergoing considerable changes and is confronted
with numerous serious and global challenges, such as
climate change, which is the main topic of this annual
session. All these challenges call for multilateral
institutions that are able to establish effective
multilateral cooperation and coordination among States
to promote coherence and synergy among the various
national and regional initiatives. Hence the crucial
importance of a stronger United Nations that enjoys the
confidence and commitment of its Member States and
their support in order to make a success of its reform
programme. The Organization also needs to strengthen
its credibility in order to harmonize its agenda with our
crucial priorities and with the need to ensure a better
future for humanity within the framework of more
balanced, interdependent and tolerant international
relations.