Morocco, 1996

At the outset I would like, on behalf of my country, to

congratulate the President sincerely, and the friendly

country of Malaysia, on his election to preside over the

General Assembly at its fifty-first session. His

competence and profound knowledge of international

affairs will clearly contribute to the achievement of the

expected results of the session. I should like to take this

opportunity to assure him that the delegation of the

Kingdom of Morocco will provide its full support and

assistance in order to achieve those results.

I would also like to express my deep appreciation to

Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral for the wisdom with which

he guided the proceedings of the fiftieth session and for

his commendable efforts in connection with the

commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United

Nations.

Although the cold war ended a few years ago, and

despite the hopes of the peoples of the world that a new

international era would dawn in which they could reap the

benefits and dividends of peace and take part on an equal

footing in the guidance and management of international

affairs in order to preserve their ideals, values and

interests, we note that the current world situation is

characterized by instability and confusion and is far from

reflecting the order we so hoped to achieve. Indeed, far

from bringing peace, security and justice, the end of the

cold war spawned a situation in which local crises have

brought suffering to millions of people in several regions

of the world, severely stirring our global conscience.

These crises have also highlighted the inability of the

international community to devise effective mechanisms

to resolve such conflicts in an equitable way and to put

an end to the tragedies they engender.

Morocco believes that the Secretary-General’s

initiative for restructuring the United Nations and

strengthening its role falls precisely within this

perspective and can prepare the Organization to deal with

the effects of these conflicts through preventive

diplomacy, the development and reform of United Nations

bodies, and coordination between the United Nations and

other international and regional organizations. We are,

moreover, convinced that the re-election of Mr. Boutros

Boutros-Ghali to a second term as Secretary-General

would be the best guarantee for the continuation of those

reforms. The Secretary-General’s experience, competence,

15

courage and spirit of initiative in settling international

conflicts and reactivating international cooperation in

various fields, make him the best choice to guide the affairs

of the Organization during a second mandate. Morocco also

hopes that any controversy on the subject will be avoided

in order to forestall adverse repercussions on the work of

this session and on the future of the Organization.

The commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of our

Organization provided an opportunity for the numerous

Heads of State who attended the celebration to express

concerns and apprehensions regarding the challenges

confronting us. They issued a Declaration that contained

their proposals and recommendations for meeting those

challenges and devising effective mechanisms to promote

closer relations among countries. In our view, this session

provides us an opportunity to reflect on those

recommendations and proposals and to find answers to the

questions raised by the Heads of State regarding the

fundamental and structural reforms of the United Nations.

With regard to the Security Council and its

prerogatives in discharging its mandate to maintain

international peace and security, we believe that any

initiative aimed at expanding the membership of the

Security Council and improving its modes of action would

require much thought and circumspection. It must take into

account current realities if any final decision in this regard

is to lead to the desired reform and thereby guarantee

equitable representation of all continents. The aim here is

to ensure the Council’s efficiency and credibility and to

enhance its ability to cope with any violation of

international law without impinging on the prerogatives and

role of the General Assembly.

However, any reform that does not take into account

the current financial difficulties of the Organization clearly

cannot produce the expected results. It will be extremely

difficult for the United Nations to fulfil its mission without

a stable financial base. Hence the need for all Member

States to pay their contributions, settle their arrears and

thereby give concrete substance to their collective and

continued support for the efforts of the Organization.

In the field of disarmament, many important steps

have been taken in the control of weapons of mass

destruction, including nuclear weapons. Following the

establishment of nuclear-free zones in Latin America and

the South Pacific and the indefinite extension of the Treaty

on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the African

countries signed a Treaty making Africa a nuclear-free

continent. In addition to these achievements, we hope to see

the Middle East also become a zone free of weapons of

mass destruction and of nuclear weapons in particular.

Moreover, following the success of the efforts to

produce the final version, the Comprehensive Nuclear

Test-Ban Treaty will be open for signature tomorrow.

Morocco, which made an important contribution to the

drafting of the Treaty, is convinced that this document

will open the way for the complete elimination of nuclear

weapons, strengthen international cooperation and

promote the exchange of knowledge about the peaceful

uses of nuclear energy, so that developing countries can

achieve their economic and technical goals.

Morocco’s interest in this subject is predicated on its

acute awareness of the risks involved and that arms

control is the cornerstone of any initiative aimed at firmly

establishing the basis for international peace and security

throughout the world. Humanity can be sheltered from the

tragedy of massively destructive wars only through the

full and complete elimination of nuclear, chemical and

biological weapons under effective international control.

Last year, I told this Assembly that the efforts of the

Kingdom of Morocco to achieve territorial integrity had

gone through a series of phases unique in the history of

the independence of nations. The time has come for

Morocco to recover all its territories.

Being fully committed to peace and to the settlement

of problems through dialogue, and having continually

defended this principle in international forums as a means

for resolving problems between nations, Morocco is

convinced that the return of the cities of Ceuta and

Melilla and of the neighbouring islands still under

Spanish occupation can only occur through those same

means. This is particularly true given the common

interests and the well-established and good-neighbourly

relations existing between Morocco and Spain. This is,

moreover, precisely what His Majesty King Hassan II

took the initiative to underscore when he called for the

establishment of a Moroccan-Spanish think tank

definitively to resolve this question.

Accordingly, the final, complete solution we are

advocating is one which preserves Moroccan sovereignty

on the territories it holds, while guaranteeing Spanish

interests. This would further consolidate the dynamics of

the diverse and close cooperation between the northern

and southern shores of the Mediterranean. We are also

convinced that our age-old relations with neighbouring

16

Spain will be instrumental in finding a permanent solution

to this question.

The developments in the Middle East over the past

few years opened prospects of tolerance and coexistence for

the peoples of the region, instead of dissension and fighting.

We view the progress that has been made as an auspicious

sign in that regard, starting with the Madrid Conference and

the Oslo agreements and progressing to the

Palestinian-Israeli agreement and the Jordanian-Israeli

agreement.

Morocco has contributed to giving life to the concept

of peace in the region, and has made tireless efforts to

establish a comprehensive, just and lasting peace that would

guarantee the return of all occupied Arab territories,

including Al-Quds al-Sharif, the occupied Syrian Golan

Heights and southern Lebanon in keeping with Security

Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978)

and the principle of land for peace. We therefore regret the

interruption of the peace process, which threatens to destroy

all the efforts we have made to establish security and

stability in the region.

We have the right to wonder whether the principles

and commitments agreed upon at the Madrid Conference,

which provided the groundwork for the process towards

establishing a just and comprehensive peace in the region,

have become outdated, not to say null and void. Has the

new Israeli Government, which seeks to cast doubt on those

principles and commitments, realized the disastrous

consequences of such a course of action, which could take

the region and its peoples back to a situation we thought

was behind us thanks to an irreversible commitment and a

new perception of the region’s future?

We believe in peace and are dedicated to its defence

and maintenance as an irreversible option and goal. My

country has contributed to this mission of its own free will

and in good faith. Similarly, we have on many occasions

pointed out that genuine security for all the countries of the

region can be achieved only through the establishment of a

comprehensive, just and lasting peace which guarantees the

rights of all parties in the region.

In this respect, we call for scrupulous and unequivocal

commitment, with no delays, to all that has been agreed

upon, in order to implement the agreements reached

according to the scheduled phases of the peace process. We

also call for removing the obstacles impeding the bilateral

Arab-Israeli negotiations so that we may keep abreast of the

substantial progress made in the multilateral peace process

in order to achieve the desired final solution.

The blockade imposed on the Palestinian territories,

which hinders even the delivery of international assistance

to the Palestinian people, makes it particularly difficult

for the Palestinian Authority to discharge its obligations

to its people, who are living in extremely difficult

conditions. In addition, the colonization policy applied by

Israel and the changes it is introducing in the old part of

the city of Al-Quds and neighbouring areas constitute a

violation of the United Nations resolutions, principles and

commitments to which I referred earlier.

In this respect, we call for a lifting of this blockade

and for providing full material support and assistance to

the Palestinian Authority, in accordance with the decisions

taken by the international community, so that the

Authority can discharge its mission in the best possible

conditions and launch the process of the economic

development of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in

order to enable the Palestinian people to establish their

independent State, with Al-Quds as its capital, and to

contribute, on equal footing, to the progress, cooperation

and prosperity of the region.

The Gulf crisis has long cast a dark shadow on the

region and created crisis conditions. We have repeatedly

called for transcending these conditions through the

implementation of internationally binding resolutions

within the framework of ensuring the security and

stability of the region and preserving the sovereignty and

territorial integrity of the countries of the region. We are

convinced that this situation cannot continue indefinitely.

The prospects for an easing of the crisis are

beginning to emerge, based on the progress made in the

implementation of Security Council resolutions, and the

understanding reached by Iraq and the United Nations on

the implementation of resolution 986 (1995), known as

the oil-for-food resolution. We regret the latest

developments in the Gulf region, which are likely to once

again plunge that area into a spiral of instability and

postpone the implementation of that resolution. As we call

for restraint and calm in order to avoid any escalation, we

reaffirm the need to respect Iraq’s sovereignty and

territorial integrity and to implement Security Council

resolution 986 (1995), in order to alleviate the hardships

of the Iraqi people, who are still suffering from the

embargo which has been imposed on them for the last six

years.

17

The problem of the United Arab Emirate islands of the

Greater and the Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa has not yet

been resolved. Given the relationship of kinship and

brotherhood between us and the United Arab Emirates, and

given our historic and brotherly relations with Iran, we call

upon the two neighbouring countries to find a definitive

solution to this crisis on the basis of respect for the

sovereignty of the United Arab Emirates over its islands

and respect for its territorial integrity, in keeping with the

relations of neighbourliness and the traditional ties existing

between the two countries. These ties should be exploited

to the benefit of the peoples of the Emirates and Iran and

to achieve stability in the region.

Morocco attaches special importance to the conflict

between Libya and certain Western countries because of its

repercussions on international and regional relations. In this

connection, we regretfully note the implications of the

measures imposed on Libya and their extensive damaging

effects on the Libyan people and on the economies of

neighbouring countries. The continuation of this situation

has been a source of concern.

Morocco, which is interested in seeing this problem

settled amicably, calls for a favourable response to the

initiatives and efforts made by the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,

the Arab League, the Non-Aligned Movement and the

Organization of the Islamic Conference to find a solution to

this crisis.

The world has followed with very keen interest the

international efforts aimed at restoring peace in Bosnia and

Herzegovina. These efforts have rekindled hope and

provided an opportunity to put an end to the conflict in the

region and to the crimes against humanity that have claimed

tens of thousands of Bosnian lives. Morocco fully supports

the Bosnian people and their just cause, including the

preservation of their sovereignty, territorial integrity and

identity, and has never hesitated, in its current capacity as

Chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, to

shoulder its responsibilities to help the Bosnian people

overcome their ordeal. Thus, we worked to set up a

coordination mechanism between the Islamic Contact Group

and the International Contact Group, which contributed to

bringing about the official signing, at the Paris Conference,

of the Dayton Agreement, which aims at putting an end to

the bloodshed in the region, finding a comprehensive, just

and lasting solution, instilling respect for international

legality, and contributing to stability in the region. My

country has also met its international obligations through its

participation in the Implementation Force, thereby

contributing to the establishment of security and stability

in that region.

We are gratified to note the substantial progress

made in the implementation of the military aspects of the

Dayton Agreement and the launching of the construction

of political institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We

hope that the legislative elections held recently will

constitute yet another constructive step towards preserving

the territorial integrity and political unity of the Republic

of Bosnia and Herzegovina and achieving harmony and

concord among the country’s various constituents in order

to secure its stability and development.

The current world economic situation clearly reveals

the wide gap between developed and developing

countries, as well as the increasing marginalization of the

latter in the international economic arena. This unbalanced

situation threatens to lead to conflicts among countries

arising out of economic and development considerations

and could thus adversely affect world stability.

Given the staggering increase in external debt and its

negative repercussions on the economies of the

developing countries, there is an urgent need today to find

adequate solutions to this situation, which is mortgaging

the future of the developing countries. Such solutions can

be achieved only through the creation of conditions more

conducive to increasing equal opportunities among the

countries of the world and a genuine partnership that can

pave the way towards the achievement of balanced and

lasting development.

In this context, we once again welcome the initiative

of the United Nations Secretary-General in the “Agenda

for Development”. We hope that it will lead to positive

results, redress the imbalance and help to achieve the

economic development sought by the developing

countries.

The changes affecting the international economic

scene following the crystallization of the concept of

economic globalization and the liberalization of trade-

mandate corrective measures require that the existing

disproportion be corrected, particularly since the

behaviour of certain developed countries in trade

liberalization is still marked by a selective approach.

Moreover, protectionist measures and the institution of

covert barriers in the guise of various environmental and

other considerations are inconsistent with the desirable

policy of liberalization of international trade.

18

We hope that the task of redressing these imbalances

will feature prominently among the concerns of the World

Trade Organization in the near future and that a balance

may be struck between freedom of trade and development

requirements.

If a solution is to be found, the role of international

financial institutions must be extensively reassessed in view

of the deep changes affecting the international scene.

Accordingly, we call for the implementation of the

provisions of World Trade Organization agreements and for

careful thought to be given to defining the concepts of

globalization that now determine the very future of nations,

peoples and, indeed, entire continents. This could be done

by means of financial and economic transactions designed

to close the gap between countries and to overcome the

marginalization from which many of them suffer,

particularly in Africa.

We keenly hope that the meeting of the World Trade

Organization at Singapore in December will provide an

opportunity to assess the situation and to enter into a more

careful consideration of the consistency of economic,

financial and monetary policies, for which Morocco has

been calling for some time.

The deterioration in the situation on the African

continent is most certainly at the forefront of issues

demanding a joint effort on the part of the international

community. Effective and practical solutions must be found

for the serious economic, social and humanitarian problems

facing African States, which have been compounded by

tragedies such as civil war, the spread of epidemics and

deadly diseases, desertification, refugee problems and all

they entail.

Morocco, as a country on the African continent that

enjoys deep-rooted historical and other ties with other

African States, takes a keen interest in the continent’s

problems. Bearing in mind those ancient ties and our

special political relations, my country has contributed,

within the means available to it, to the development of

Africa through the establishment of bilateral cultural and

technical cooperation with the States of the continent.

Morocco will therefore spare no effort to develop and

consolidate bilateral cooperation with African States to help

the African continent overcome its problems and emerge

from marginalization.

During the Marrakesh Ministerial Meeting of the

Uruguay Round in 1994, His Majesty King Hassan II was

the first to call for the introduction of a “Marshall Plan”

for Africa and to stress the need for greater international

efforts to help African States develop their economies and

become integrated into the world economy.

In this framework, we welcome the United Nations

System-wide Special Initiative on Africa. In our opinion,

we should do our utmost to help this Initiative succeed by

ensuring that both the United Nations and the

international community provide the necessary financial

and technical support.

With regard to what is known as the question of

Western Sahara, I would like to affirm, as I have done

many times before, Morocco’s commitment and

unswerving willingness to implement the United Nations

Settlement Plan which guarantees the right of all people

from the Sahara to express their will through a

referendum.

It has now become clear to everyone that since the

end of last year, the United Nations Plan has reached a

deadlock. We hope that this stalemate will end as soon as

possible so that the Settlement Plan can be carried out on

the basis of a referendum.

As the twenty-first century comes into view, the

world hopes that tomorrow will bring a brighter future

characterized by peace, cooperation and brotherhood

among peoples. As we stand on the threshold of a new

century, we need to strengthen the United Nations and

consolidate its capabilities so that it can keep up with the

changes taking place and respond to people’s desire for

security, justice and development.