Morocco, 2009

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.