On behalf of the
Kingdom of Morocco, I should like to congratulate you
warmly, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the
General-Assembly of the United Nations at its sixty-
fourth session. We are proud to see a son of a brotherly
country from our region at the helm of this universal
body. You may rest assured that our delegation is
prepared fully to support your endeavours aimed at
ensuring a greater role for our Organization in meeting
the challenges of today’s world.
I wish also to seize this opportunity to express
our appreciation and support to His Excellency
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his tireless efforts
not only to realize the objectives for which our
Organization was created, but also to enable the
Organization to fulfil the aspirations of the peoples of
the world in the course of this third millennium.
The global crises, owing to their universal
impact, multifaceted nature and wide implications,
have given additional impetus to our collective action
and strengthened coordination among the different
constituents of this universal body. Today, the world is
facing recurrent and unprecedented crises in the fields
of economics, finance, food and energy that have
shaken the foundations of universal governance. These
crises have also adversely affected the socio-economic
and environmental systems of all States, especially in
developing countries.
As the most representative Organization in the
world, the United Nations embodies the living
conscience of the international community. As such, it
is the most appropriate forum for coordinated joint
action and for the reactivation of collective initiatives
in order to analyse the root causes of such crises and
contain their impact through the adoption of agreed
solutions likely to mitigate their effects. Effective and
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fair economic governance is dependent on the
revitalization of the multilateral system based on
realism, efficiency and innovation as a means of
finding solutions that reflect the aspirations and hopes
of present and future generations.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
were adopted as a common platform for action with
clear objectives and a time frame for their
implementation, with a view to achieving human
development in the world. Much progress has been
achieved in many States thanks to the efforts of the
international community since the Millennium Summit.
However, the progress made towards those goals has
not been consistent or steady within States or among
States in general. The negative implications of the
current economic crisis may exacerbate those
disparities, especially in Africa. The few years that
remain before 2015 thus require us to adopt a
coordinated global approach and to build real
partnerships in order to mobilize additional financial
resources in line with the commitments made in the
Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration on
Financing for Development as well as in the
declarations of the Group of Eight and the Group of 20.
In this context, Morocco hopes that the fourth
high-level meeting on financing for development, to be
held in November 2009 in New York, will yield results
commensurate with the expectations of the developing
countries, thus giving new impetus to efforts to attain
the Millennium Development Goals, thus leading to the
formation of an international alliance for African
development in the framework of coordinated efforts
and initiatives aimed at achieving the Goals within
specific time frames. We also hope that the United
Nations agencies that are active in the area of
development will mainstream the Millennium
Development Goals and use them as the main and
appropriate framework for their action. In this context,
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in particular should use the Millennium Development
Goals as practical and comprehensively agreed upon
indicators when drafting its report on human
development. The MDGs provide a practical and
qualitative, not only quantitative, way to measure
living that better reflects the ever-evolving concept of
development.
In keeping with this vision, the National Initiative
for Human Development, launched in May 2005 by His
Majesty Mohammed VI, constitutes a pillar of
Moroccan social policy. The initiative is based on an
integrated approach to development in all its aspects —
political, economic, social, environmental and cultural.
By building roads, providing energy services and
encouraging income-generating activities, the Initiative
has achieved concrete results in fighting poverty and
exclusion, improving infrastructure and de-marginalizing
rural areas.
Collective efforts in the field of development will
remain insufficient unless they are accompanied by
daring and effective policies for the protection of the
environment and concrete measures to mitigate the
impact of climate change, which now more than ever is
threatening the future of mankind. In that connection,
Morocco is convinced that the conference on climate
change to be held in Copenhagen in December will
undoubtedly constitute an important step towards an
international agreement on climate. In that regard,
Morocco reiterates the proposal it made at the
conference held at Poznan, Poland, in December 2008
for the creation of a multilateral fund for the transfer of
technology to the developing countries in order to
enable them to deal with the grave implications of
climate change.
Mindful of the necessity to operationalize
concrete measures to protect the environment and
contain the negative impact of climate change, His
Majesty Mohammed VI instructed the Government to
draft swiftly a comprehensive national environmental
charter, with the aim of protecting national resources
and reserves as part of a sustainable development
policy. The environment should be considered a shared
national heritage whose protection is the collective
duty of current and future generations. Likewise,
Morocco will reactivate its national energy strategy
aimed at the development of renewable energy sources
and the recycling of waste water.
Convinced that the peace process is the only
viable option in the Middle East, the Kingdom of
Morocco has participated constructively and
responsibly in all efforts of the international
community to relaunch the peace process on solid
foundations. That means that the process must be in
accordance with resolutions of international legality,
the previous relevant agreements and commitments
among the parties concerned, and the Arab Peace
Initiative, which as a realistic option reflects the
collective Arab will to arrive at a just and
comprehensive solution that guarantees the right of the
51 09-52586
Palestinian people to create their own independent
State, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, an Israeli
withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories,
including Syrian and Lebanese territories, and a stable,
secure and peaceful existence for all peoples of the
region.
The Kingdom of Morocco expresses its
appreciation to the United States Administration for its
efforts and for the encouraging positions taken by
President Obama. We hope that it will persevere in
order to overcome obstacles to a resumption of
negotiations. We also commend all other international
efforts, including European efforts, to that end.
Those efforts will be productive only if Israel
halts its illegal practices, which prevent the
achievement of peace. Those practices, in particular the
building of settlements in the occupied Palestinian
territories and the unjust blockade against our brotherly
Palestinian people, run counter to the peace option.
The settlement activities and the expulsions taking
place in Al-Quds, aimed at altering the legal and
demographic status of that holy city, are flagrant
violations of international instruments and require
urgent action on the part of all peace-loving countries.
In that regard, His Majesty Mohammed VI, in his
capacity as Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, has
always warned the international community against the
risks associated with altering the legal status of
Al-Quds. He has also been urging the influential
international Powers to swiftly implement the
requirements of international legitimacy in order to
preserve the religious, cultural and spiritual features of
the holy city in such a way as to create appropriate
conditions conducive to the resumption of the peace
process.
The achievement of peace through the peaceful
resolution of conflicts is the essence of the historical
mandate of the United Nations. It should be based on
the principles of equality among States and respect for
their independence and territorial integrity, in
accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. In
addition, there is a need to eliminate all weapons of
mass destruction and to combat terrorism in all its
forms and manifestations.
As a member of the Peacebuilding Commission,
Morocco will continue its relevant activities, including
by mobilizing efforts in support of African countries.
Such efforts are being made within the framework of
South-South cooperation, with concrete projects,
defined goals and shared benefits and in keeping with
the priorities of Moroccan foreign policy as determined
by His Majesty King Mohammed VI. As one of the
first active participants in United Nations peacekeeping
missions, Morocco has always taken a keen interest in
United Nations efforts to enhance such operations as
part of the new partnership proposed to adapt to
international developments and the requirements for
lasting peace.
Furthermore, recent developments in the area of
disarmament provide reason for optimism. The
positions expressed and the statements made at the
highest levels augur well and maintain the momentum
for disarmament and non-proliferation efforts. We hope
that efforts will be made at the international and
regional levels for the entry into force of the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, given the
outcome of the meeting on article 14 of the Treaty,
which I had the honour to co-chair last Thursday with
my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of
France.
Since its establishment, the United Nations has
endeavoured to promote international and regional
cooperation to uphold the principles of coexistence,
peace, good-neighbourliness and consultation at a time
when regional economic gatherings are playing a
pivotal role in addressing economic, security and
environmental issues. Convinced of that role, Morocco
has taken a keen interest in promoting good-
neighbourly relations in nearby African, Maghreb and
Mediterranean regions. Likewise, Morocco supports
the Mediterranean Union as a promising framework for
increasing dialogue and cooperation between the two
sides of the Mediterranean. Moreover, on 4 August
2009, mindful of the important role of the Atlantic
Ocean and the opportunities it provides for collective
action, Morocco launched an initiative aimed at
cooperation among African countries bordering the
Atlantic as the basis for a broader partnership with
other coastal countries in that geo-strategic region.
His Majesty King Mohammad VI has reaffirmed
Morocco’s strong and enduring resolve to contribute in
good faith to the consolidation of the Arab Maghreb
Union, the reactivation of its structures and the
strengthening of relations among its members,
including brotherly Algeria. Indeed, that regional body
could play a central role in building fruitful
partnerships and in ensuring security and stability in
09-52586 52
Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Our
belief that the Arab Maghreb project must be
reactivated as an embodiment of our peoples’ hopes
and aspirations is in keeping with our sincere desire to
work to remove all obstacles to the realization of our
peoples’ expectations and the consolidation of
brotherly relations among its five members.
In that regard, Morocco has responded
responsibly and in good faith to the appeals of the
Security Council for efforts to find a political, lasting
and negotiated solution to the regional dispute over the
Moroccan Sahara. A bold autonomy initiative, regarded
as serious and credible by the international community,
has been proposed as a promising and realistic basis for
a lasting solution to that artificial conflict.
With the same resolve and responsibility,
Morocco, with the support of the Security Council, has
been engaged in the new dynamic resulting from its
initiative aimed at negotiations under United Nations
supervision. In its resolutions 1813 (2008) and 1871
(2009), the Council called for serious and intense
negotiations in a spirit of compromise and realism with
a view to finding a political, lasting and negotiated
solution that is in keeping with the principle of
self-determination and that cannot be monopolized by
anyone or selectively interpreted to conceal undeclared
objectives and a hidden agenda. Morocco will continue
its full cooperation with the Secretary-General and his
Personal Envoy to find a definitive solution to this
regional dispute that fully respects the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco and
grants autonomous status to the population of the
Sahara provinces, which is likely to ensure their
progress and well-being and enable them to manage
their domestic affairs in a democratic manner.
The Kingdom of Morocco has always been at the
forefront of international and regional initiatives aimed
at promoting the values of dialogue, tolerance and
openness to others, especially as they relate to the
necessary dialogue between Islam and the West and to
respecting universal human rights standards, as
prevalent as they are all over the world.
Based on those convictions, Morocco will
continue to promote its fruitful cooperation and
positive dialogue at the bilateral, regional and global
levels. Motivated by the same spirit of commitment,
the Kingdom of Morocco will assume its responsibility
and will play its role fully within the main United
Nations bodies, with a view to reinforcing the
Organization’s efficiency, credibility and contribution.
May the blessings, peace and mercy of Allah be
upon all participants.