Morocco, 2010

His

Majesty Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco, has

honoured me by asking me to deliver his statement to

the General Assembly.

“Allow me, at the outset, to congratulate

you, Mr. President, on being elected to preside

over the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth

session, and to commend your predecessor,

Mr. Ali Treki, on having given fresh dynamism to

the proceedings of the Assembly. I would also

like to express my deep appreciation to His

Excellency the Secretary-General, who spares no

effort to enhance the role of the United Nations.

“This session, which is being held 10 years

after the Millennium Summit, is a great

opportunity for us to agree on a consensual vision

to steer our joint action for the years to come and

to reiterate our commitment to the three basic

axes underlying that vision, namely, security and

stability, development and prosperity, and

advancement of human rights and human dignity.

Those priorities form the bedrock of the new

international agenda. This important meeting

therefore provides us a good opportunity to

reassert our commitment to tackling those

priorities and to reiterate our determination to

promote international cooperation and lay solid

groundwork for a new world where safety and

solidarity prevail.

“Morocco, which firmly believes in the

important position of the United Nations as the

symbol of universal values and international

legitimacy, has worked tirelessly to give the

Organization active and concrete support, to

promote its principles and to contribute to the

achievement of its objectives. Indeed, my country

has also actively sought to ensure that its national

priorities are in line with issues on the

international agenda.

“Peacekeeping was the main objective

behind the creation of the United Nations, which

is playing a key role for all mankind. From this

rostrum, the Kingdom of Morocco calls on the

international community to increase its

involvement and work for the settlement of all

disputes — whether overt or covert — that strain

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relations between neighbouring States and

hamper the indispensable integration of their

economies, particularly in Africa.

“To foster healthier relations in our

Maghreb region, we submitted an autonomy

initiative to the United Nations in 2007 with a

view to bringing an end to the artificial dispute

over the recovery by Morocco of its southern

provinces. That bold, innovative initiative has

received the support of the international

community and the Security Council, which have

repeatedly described the efforts underlying it as

serious and credible. They have also commended

Morocco’s active steps to facilitate the settlement

of this dispute, which seriously jeopardizes the

integration of the Arab Maghreb and the

prosperity of the peoples of its five countries.

“In that context, the Kingdom of Morocco

calls on the other partners to seize this historic

opportunity and engage in substantive and serious

negotiations under the auspices of the Secretary-

General and his Personal Envoy, to whom we

reiterate our sincere willingness to cooperate.

“The need to free our region from the yoke

of this dispute, which hampers our joint action,

has never been greater, not only for us, but also

for our strategic partners. We must therefore

settle this dispute, given the numerous pressing

challenges facing us, especially with respect to

security in the Sahara and Sahel regions and in

the Mediterranean basin.

“Achieving peace in the Middle East is not

an impossible goal, nor is the persistence of the

conflict inevitable. The only solution to the

conflict remains that of two States, living side by

side in peace and security.

“The international community is therefore

called upon to support the direct negotiation

process taking place under the commendable

auspices of the United States Administration.

This is a good opportunity to strive to achieve a

final settlement, in compliance with international

legitimacy and the relevant United Nations

resolutions and on the basis of a clear frame of

reference, a comprehensive agenda and a specific

timetable.

“As an active player in the peace process,

Morocco is aware that such negotiations must

address the issue of establishing a fully sovereign

Palestinian State, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its

capital, as well as the related and complex issues,

and that for negotiations to succeed, unilateral

actions must be avoided and settlement building

must end, especially in Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

“As Chair of the Al-Quds Committee, I

have consistently drawn the attention of the

United Nations and of the international

community to the sensitive nature of the issue of

Al-Quds Al-Sharif and to attempts to Judaize that

Holy City and obliterate its character. Al-Quds

must remain a symbol of coexistence and concord

between the monotheistic religions, a city of

peace and of coexistence between the Palestinian

and the Israeli peoples.

“Two days ago, we took stock of the

progress that has thus far been made in achieving

the Millennium Development Goals. We agreed

that a combination of crises, including the

adverse effects of climate change, has clearly

delayed the attainment of most of these Goals in

many developing countries, particularly on our

African continent.

“With a population of more than 900

million people and natural resources abundant

enough to ensure the continent’s self-sufficiency,

Africa is indeed capable of enjoying steady

growth and development. This potential

notwithstanding, Africa largely remains on the

sidelines when it comes to foreign direct

investment flows, a trend which has been

compounded further by the global economic and

financial crisis. The Kingdom of Morocco

therefore proposes that the General Assembly

hold a high-level dialogue on investment in

Africa.

“Similarly, the magnitude of the challenges

posed by globalization requires from the

international community urgent, substantial

reforms of the existing international economic

governance institutions as well as further

mobilization to lay the foundations for a new,

equitable, balanced and efficient international

environmental order that will enable us to

33 10-55122

safeguard our planet for the sake of current and

future generations.

“The Kingdom of Morocco has committed

itself irreversibly to protect and promote human

rights. To this end, it will implement a

comprehensive strategy based on a participatory

approach which places special emphasis on

human resources development and the promise of

a dignified life, these being the key elements in

our endeavour to build a democratic society

dedicated to development.

“Accordingly, Morocco has launched a

programme of major workshops and reforms.

Substantial progress has been made towards

expanding the scope of individual and collective

freedoms, safeguarding human dignity and

promoting and protecting the rights of its citizens,

especially those of women, children and people

with special needs.

“Internationally, Morocco has manifested a

deep commitment to protecting human rights

since the establishment of the Human Rights

Council and its operational mechanisms. This

commitment was recognized in March 2010,

when Morocco was chosen by the General

Assembly to be a co-facilitator of the review

process aimed at charting a renewed vision for

the Council by putting human capital at the heart

of human resources development and sustainable

development.

“Morocco will spare no effort to achieve

this goal and to help develop a shared,

responsible vision of the true values of human

rights, a vision which excludes empty slogans and

the tendentious manipulation of lofty objectives.

“The world still has a long way to go before

States and peoples learn to accept diversity and

make it a genuine source of spiritual, social and

cultural enrichment. More than a necessity,

dialogue among civilizations has become an

urgent priority.

“Indeed, it is of the utmost importance that

the United Nations become the standard-bearer of

a culture of peace, tolerance and mutual

understanding and that it serve as a catalyst for a

new form of cooperation based on solidarity and

dedicated to achieving dignity, prosperity, well-

being and peace for all people everywhere.”