Full text of HM the King's address to 65th session of UN General Assembly

HM King Mohammed VI addressed, on Monday, the 65th session of the UN General Assembly.
Here follows the full text of the address, read by Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi:

Praise be to God                                  May peace and blessings be upon
                                                            the Prophet, His Kith and Kin

Your Majesties,
Your Highnesses,
Your Excellencies,
Mr President,
Mr Secretary-General,

First of all, I should like to congratulate you, Mr President, on being elected to preside over the 65th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and to commend your predecessor, Dr Ali Triki, on having given fresh impetus to the proceedings of the General Assembly.
I also want to express my deep appreciation to the Secretary-General, who spares no effort to enhance the role of the United Nations Organization.

This session, which is being held ten years after the Millennium Summit, is an occasion for us to agree on a consensual vision to steer our joint action for the years to come, and also to reiterate our commitment to the three basic elements underlying that vision, namely security and stability, development and prosperity, and support for human rights and human dignity. These priorities make up the bedrock of the new international agenda.

This important meeting therefore provides a good opportunity for us to reassert our commitment to tackling these priorities, and to reiterate our determination to promote international cooperation and lay the groundwork for a new world where safety and solidarity prevail.

Morocco, which sees the United Nations Organisation as the symbol of universal values and international legitimacy, has worked untiringly to give
the Organization active support, to promote its principles and to contribute to the achievement of its objectives.

My country has also actively sought to ensure its national priorities are in line with the international agenda.

Mr. President,

Peace-keeping was the main reason 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 latent - which strain 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 in 2007 with a view to bringing an end to the artificial dispute over the recovery, by Morocco, of its southern provinces.

This 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 the steps taken by Morocco to facilitate the settlement of this dispute which heavily jeopardizes the Maghreb integration and the prosperity of the peoples of the five countries in the region. 

In this context, the Kingdom of Morocco calls on the other partners to seize this historic opportunity and engage in substantive 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 therefore have to settle this dispute, given the numerous, pressing challenges facing us, especially with respect to security, in the Sahara and Sahel region and in the Mediterranean basin.

Mr. President,

Achieving peace in the Middle East is not an impossible goal, nor is the persistence of the conflict an inevitable fate. The only solution 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 US Administration. This is a good opportunity to strive hard and achieve a final settlement in compliance with international legality and the relevant UN 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 negotiations have to address the issue of establishing a fully sovereign Palestinian state, with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital, as well as the related thorny questions, and that for negotiations to succeed, unilateral actions must be avoided and settlement building must end, especially in Al Quds Al Sharif.

As President of the Al Quds Committee, I have consistently drawn the attention of the United Nations Organization and of the international community to the sensitivity of the issue of Al Quds Al Sharif and to the attempts to Judaize this holy city and obliterate its characteristics. 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.

Mr. President,

Two days ago, we took stock of the progress that has been made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. We agreed that a combination of crises and of consequences of climate change has clearly delayed the attainment of most of these goals in many developing countries, particularly in Africa.

With a population of more than 900 million people and natural resources abundant enough to ensure the continent’s self-sufficiency, Africa may well enjoy a steady growth rate. 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 United Nations General Assembly should hold a high-level dialogue on investment in Africa.
Similarly, the magnitude of the challenges posed by globalization requires urgent, substantial reforms of the current global economic governance set-up as well as further mobilization to lay the foundations of a new, equitable, balanced and efficient environmental order that will enable us to safeguard our planet for the sake of current and future generations.

Mr. President,

The Kingdom of Morocco has made the irreversible decision to protect and promote human rights, using, to this end, a comprehensive strategy based on a participatory approach which lays special emphasis on human resource development and the promise of a dignified life, which are key elements in our endeavour to build a democratic society dedicated to development.

In this respect, Morocco has launched major projects and the substantial progress made towards expanding the scope of individual and collective freedoms, safeguarding human dignity and promoting the rights of its citizens - especially those of women, children and people with special needs - has been widely recognized.

Morocco has been deeply committed to protecting human rights since the establishment of the Human Rights Council and the setting up of its operating mechanisms. This commitment was recognized in March 2010, when Morocco was chosen as co-facilitator, at the UN General Assembly level, of the review process of this key UN institution, one of whose aims is to put human capital at the heart of human resource development and sustainable development.

Morocco will spare no effort to achieve this goal and to help develop a shared, responsible vision on the true values of human rights, a vision which excludes empty slogans and tendentious manipulation of lofty objectives.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The world still has a long way to go before states and peoples learn to accept diversity and make it a source of spiritual, cultural and civilizational enrichment. More than a necessity, dialogue among civilizations has become a priority.
It is of the utmost importance that the United Nations Organization becomes the standard bearer of a culture of peace, tolerance and mutual understanding; that it serves as a catalyst for a new form of cooperation which is based on solidarity and dedicated to achieving the dignity and well-being of all people.

Thank you.

Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh.

 Source: MAP

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