Morocco, 2002

I

should like at the outset to express to you, Sir, on

behalf of the Kingdom of Morocco, our sincere

congratulations on your election to the presidency of

the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session and to

assure you of my delegation's full cooperation with a

view to achieving a fruitful outcome to the session.

I should also like to take this opportunity to

extend greetings to the Swiss Confederation and

congratulations on its membership of the Organization.

Given the cultural, humanitarian and intellectual

heritage of that friendly country, its contribution will

enrich the work of the Organization.

We also wish to congratulate Timor-Leste on its

forthcoming accession to the Organization, and to wish

that country every success.

Just three days have elapsed since the first

anniversary of the tragic events of 11 September 2001.

Those events deeply wounded the people of the United

States and shook the entire world with horror.

International relations have since entered a new phase

whose dimensions and repercussions we are still

assessing. Those events brought into focus the

cohesion and solidarity of all segments of the

American people in the face of such tragedy. They also

brought to the fore the effectiveness and usefulness of

solidarity and cooperation among States in combating

terrorism. Indeed, as His Majesty King Mohammed VI

has stated, terrorism has no religion or homeland.

Everyone is aware of the Kingdom of Morocco's firm

10

stance and its renunciation of terrorism in all its forms,

as well as its vigorous and concrete commitment to

combating this scourge.

The gradual disappearance of economic borders

and barriers to trade, the continued interdependence of

markets and societies, the rapid development of

information and communication technologies and the

relegation of certain peoples to the sidelines of the

world community have all added new challenges to the

burdens already carried by numerous countries, in

particular those in Africa, which have made great

sacrifices in order to be integrated into the world trade

system.

The African continent, unfortunately, is still a

stage of tragic, complicated and generally fabricated

conflicts. While Africa teems with huge natural and

human resources, those very resources paradoxically

become the cause and the fuel of many conflicts. Yet

the international community remains hesitant to take

decisive and necessary measures likely to create a

climate propitious for peace and stability in our

continent.

Seldom are the underlying reasons for conflict

and instability in Africa taken into account. Of special

importance in that regard are poverty, famine, the

oppression of minorities, intolerance, control of natural

resources, increased flows of refugees and displaced

persons and health problems including endemic

diseases, in particular HIV/AIDS.

But now, to face up to all these challenges, our

continent has established an integrated framework: the

New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

It will certainly give new impetus to the economic and

social development of the continent. Morocco,

expresses its hope that the international community

will mobilize all its efforts within the framework of

this energetic programme in order to reach effective

and concrete solutions for solving the problems of our

continent. My country is firmly intent on making an

effective contribution to this endeavour.

The Kingdom of Morocco, convinced of the

organic link between economic growth and the

maintenance of stability and security, has spared no

effort to help in settling African conflicts. In this vein,

Morocco, on the initiative of His Majesty King

Mohammed VI, convened a summit of heads of State

of the Mano River Union, which was held at Rabat on

27 February 2002. At the summit, the Presidents of the

sister countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone

achieved practical results on consolidating regional

peace, particularly with regard to laying down criteria

for confidence-building, border security and

revitalizing the work of the general secretariat of the

Mano River Union. Morocco will pursue the necessary

efforts to restore peace and stability in that region.

In the same vein, the Kingdom of Morocco

continues its support for and contribution to the work

of the United Nations Organization Mission in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), with a

view to putting an end to conflict in that sisterly

country, conflict which threatens stability in the whole

region. In that context, my country, the Kingdom of

Morocco, welcomed the agreement concluded on 30

July 2002 between the Governments of the Democratic

Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

The Kingdom of Morocco expresses also its

profound satisfaction at the restoration of peace and

stability in the sister country of Angola, which will

enable that country to rebuild its economy and to fully

play its role at the regional, continental and

international levels.

Concerning the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, the

Kingdom of Morocco would like to recall its constant

good will, and its sincere and genuine determination to

reach a final political solution to this fabricated issue.

Morocco has always cooperated with the United

Nations in this regard, thus bearing testimony to its full

understanding of and sense of responsibility towards

the Organization. Morocco would like also to

emphasize its readiness to continue its cooperation

with the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy,

Mr. James Baker, with the Security Council, in order to

achieve a lasting political solution to the issue of the

Sahara, in accordance with Security Council resolution

1429 (2002). Such an approach will pave the way for

the creation of propitious conditions for a new dynamic

in the region of the Arab Maghreb, which will enable it

to become a stable economic partner that enjoys the

trust of other regional groupings.

In this context, Morocco has supported the option

of the framework agreement proposed by Mr. Baker to

the Security Council as a basis for a negotiated

political solution for this long-standing conflict. That

option would preserve the territorial integrity of the

Kingdom of Morocco and its historical sovereignty

over its land, and would ensure for the population of

the Sahara provinces the exercise of expanded

competencies in the management of their affairs within

the framework of regional democratic institutions.

Morocco accepted this option as a basis for negotiation

in order to reach a final and lasting political solution to

this regional conflict.

In the same context, Morocco insists on the

enforcement of the provisions of Security Council

resolution 1429 (2002), calling for the immediate

release, without restriction or condition, of all the

1,260 Moroccans detained in Algeria. Their release has

been demanded unanimously by the international

community and humanitarian organizations, in the

forefront of which is the International Committee of

the Red Cross (ICRC). Morocco categorically rejects

any political exploitation of humanitarian issues related

to the Sahara problem, especially since this concerns

the fate of the longest-held detainees in the world.

The Kingdom of Morocco is linked to Europe by

strong and diverse historic bonds. The strengthening of

these bonds with all European countries constitutes a

central tenet of our foreign policy. The Association

Agreement which has been concluded with the

European Union, and the other initiatives to strengthen

Moroccan-European relations at the political,

economic, cultural and social levels, reflect Morocco's

determination to enhance this relationship, particularly

at a time when the European Union is in the process of

expanding its membership, something that would open

new opportunities and horizons for Moroccan-

European partnership. This approach not only seeks to

achieve a bilateral strategic objective between Morocco

and Europe, but it is also a valuable contribution to

nurturing relations in the Euro-Mediterranean region,

whose security and stability have become paramount

for the world.

Morocco, by virtue of its Mediterranean identity,

plays a positive role in the strategic, economic and

cultural formation of a Euro-Mediterranean space, as

witnessed by its active participation in the Barcelona

process and in the Agadir initiative announced by His

Majesty King Mohammed VI for building a free-trade

area among Arab Mediterranean countries.

In that spirit of open-mindedness, responsibility

and confidence in the future, Morocco aspires to

develop its relations with our neighbouring country,

Spain, with a view to building the Euro-Mediterranean

region and moving forward. Unfortunately, however,

recent months have been marked by events that are

inconsistent with the maintenance of security and

stability in the region and that are unlikely to serve the

interests of the two countries and their peoples.

Morocco has spared no efforts in avoiding any

move likely to affect adversely the steady growth of its

relations with Spain, hopes that the upcoming

Moroccan-Spanish talks, which will take place in

Madrid this month, will tackle all issues and conflicts

between the two countries, within the framework of

responsible, calm and constructive dialogue.

The completion of Moroccan territorial integrity

is an absolute priority for His Majesty King

Mohammed VI and for the entire Moroccan people.

Therefore, Morocco considers the status of the

occupied cities of Sebta and Melilia and of the

neighbouring islands to be an anachronistic instance of

colonialism that has no place at the beginning of the

twenty-first century.

Morocco has never ceased, neither at the bilateral

level nor in international forums, to officially demand

the recovery of these parts of its national territory that

are occupied by Spain. In so doing, it has always

expressed its readiness to engage in dialogue in order

to arrive at a solution that would guarantee Morocco's

sovereign rights and secure the interests of the Spanish

community in the areas.

We fervently hope that the two neighbouring

kingdoms, Morocco and Spain, which are bound by ties

of neighbourliness, common history and future, will

build strong, stable and neutral relations to meet the

aspirations of both peoples. As they build with mutual

respect, confidence and common strategic interests,

these relations will take into account the need for

preserving stability and peace in our region,

particularly at this specific juncture when the

international community is confronting formidable

security challenges.

In spite of continued appeals made by the

international community to bring about peace in the

Middle East, the Palestinian people still suffer on a

daily basis from the mad violence inflicted on them by

the Israeli occupation forces and practices that flout the

most elementary principles of international

humanitarian law. Notwithstanding successive Security

Council resolutions, Israel still persists in its repressive

policy, paying no heed to any international covenant

12

and denying the very agreements into which it has

entered.

In contrast, leaders of the Arab States have

demonstrated a keen sense of responsibility and a

continued pledge to embrace peace, culminating at the

Arab summit in Beirut in March 2002 with the

adoption of the Arab peace initiative presented by His

Royal Highness Crown Prince Abdullah ibn Abdul-

Aziz of the sister Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. On the

other hand, Morocco welcomes the vision advocated by

United States President George W. Bush, in which he

called for the establishment of a Palestinian State to

coexist side by side with Israel, as a lasting and viable

solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, one likely to

achieve peace and security for all peoples of the region

and to put a definite end to violence and instability.

However, recent events and developments in the region

do not, unfortunately, give substance to this vision. The

spiral of violence has instead witnessed an

unprecedented escalation.

For decades, the Kingdom of Morocco has been

endeavouring to act as a bridge between the peoples of

the region, with a view to achieving a climate of peace

and security and contributing to the revitalization of

the peace process, the creation of an independent

Palestinian State with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital

and the recovery by Syria and Lebanon of their

territories occupied since 1967.

In view of the importance of Al-Quds al-Sharif as

a key point in the peace process, and seeking to

preserve the national and religious identity of this Holy

City in accordance with the relevant Security Council

resolutions, His Majesty King Mohammed VI,

Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, is continuing his

efforts, along with brother Kings, Emirs and Presidents

of the Muslim member States of the Committee, with

the United States of America and the Russian

Federation in their capacity as peace patrons, and with

the presidency of the European Union, with His

Holiness the Pope and with the United Nations

Secretary-General, in order to safeguard the Islamic

Arab character of Al-Quds al-Sharif and to preserve it

as a place of coexistence and tolerance among the three

revealed religions.

The Iraqi issue has become a major preoccupation

for the entire world, owing to the suffering of the Iraqi

people. For this reason, while we demand that Iraq

implement the relevant United Nations resolutions, we

also call for deep reflection and patience in dealing

with the Iraqi question, hoping that the Iraqi

Government will respond to the international

community's request. The aim would be to avoid the

infliction of further suffering, distress and misery on

the Iraqi people. At any rate, the United Nations is

required to act within the framework of its Charter's

principles and purposes in order to preserve the

stability and security of all countries in the region. In

this context, Morocco expresses its concern with regard

to the Kuwaiti prisoners of war and missing persons,

and the need to preserve the unity and independence of

the State of Kuwait. Morocco also emphasizes the need

to preserve Iraq's unity and sovereignty over all its

territory.

The same region is witnessing another conflict

involving two sister States that have strong bonds of

friendship and cooperation with Morocco — that is, the

United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

My country is hopeful that our brothers in Iran will

become convinced of the need to settle the conflict

over the islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the

Lesser Tunb, by peaceful means, in accordance with

the principles of the United Nations Charter and the

rules of international law. This will affect positively

their bilateral relations, as well as the stability and

cooperation in the region.

In conclusion, under the leadership of His

Majesty King Mohammed VI, the Kingdom of

Morocco, as a member of the African, Arab, and

Muslim family and given its position in the Euro-

Mediterranean region, has always held dear the basic

values of tolerance, moderation, open-mindedness and

dialogue in dealing with the international community.

Morocco will always honour its obligations towards the

international community to strengthen the foundations

of security and stability and to give impetus to the new

visions charted for the world of the twenty-first

century. We will always remain ready to contribute

within the United Nations to finding the most efficient

means of improving conditions in the world.