Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Omar Hilale stressed that the culture of peace, harmony and coexistence, advocated by Morocco at the national and international levels in accordance with the High Guidelines of HM King Mohammed VI, is “highly recognized and welcomed by the international community.”
Speaking at a special meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on “Reimagining Equality: Eliminating racism, xenophobia and discrimination for all in the decade of action for the SDGs ,” the diplomat noted that during his visit to the Kingdom in March 2019, at the invitation of HM King Mohammed VI, His Holiness Pope Francis congratulated Morocco for its commitment to “effective and sound training to combat all forms of extremism, which so often lead to violence and terrorism, and which, in any event, constitute an offense against religion and against God himself.”
In this context, Hilale highlighted Morocco’s long tradition of tolerance, coexistence, respect for others, and promotion of intercultural and inter-religious dialogue. This tradition is a reality that is part of the collective consciousness and daily life of Moroccan society, and has persisted for more than 12 centuries in the Kingdom, he added.
Morocco’s Constitution reinforces this commitment to human rights, equality and non-discrimination, the diplomat stated during this meeting, marked by the participation of the UN Secretary General and the President of ECOSCOC among others
Article 23 of the Constitution explicitly prohibits all incitement to racism, to hatred and to violence, while equality before the law and gender equality are provided for in Articles 6 and 19, Hilale highlighted.
Furthermore, the rights of non-citizens are specifically protected in Article 30 – an article described as “visionary” by the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council, Tendayi Achiume, at the end of her visit to Morocco, he added.
The preamble of the Constitution highlights the Moroccan identity forged by the convergence of its Arab-Islamic, Amazighe and Saharan-Hassanic components, nourished and enriched by its African, Andalusian, Hebraic and Mediterranean tributaries.
The ambassador also pointed out that Morocco has a strong and rich experience in the field of migration base on respect for human rights, humanitarian law, solidarity and tolerance.
The far-sighted and humanist policy of HM King Mohammed VI towards migrants living in Morocco inscribes within this framework as it has allowed to regularize the situation of of thousands of migrants in recent years, the diplomat noted.
The Decade of Action towards SDGs offers valuable opportunities to be seized to end racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, intolerance, stigmatization, extremism and radicalism, he concluded.
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