Morocco, 2007

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.