Ambassador Mohamed Arrouchi, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom to the AU and UNECA, answers MAP’s questions on the Moroccan presidency for the month of October and Morocco’s actions within the Council during this second term, which will be an opportunity to concretize the Royal Vision of joint African action.
Morocco was re-elected in February 2022 for a second three-year term on the African Union Peace and Security Council. What are the main meanings of this re-election of the Kingdom?
Morocco’s re-election to the Peace and Security Council for a second three-year term after the 2018-2020 term, testifies to the trust and credibility that Morocco enjoys within the African Union and enshrines the Kingdom’s key and historic role in maintaining and preserving peace and security on the African continent, in line with the Royal Vision expressed by HM King Mohammed VI during His speech on the occasion of Morocco’s return to the pan-African organization.
Morocco’s contribution to UN peacekeeping and security operations in Africa since the 1960s, which have involved friendly and brotherly countries such as Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Côte d’Ivoire, has made Morocco a country that occupies a prime position as a major player in the preservation of peace and security in Africa.
What are the actions undertaken by Morocco in the Peace and Security Council of the African Union?
It should be recalled that Morocco, which fully and responsibly adheres to the reform of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, has always reaffirmed the primacy of the UN Security Council in the maintenance of international peace and security in accordance with the provisions and protocol of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union.
Also, the Kingdom adheres fully and responsibly, alongside sister African countries, in the reform of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union. The Moroccan approach is based on strengthening the transparency of working methods and the credibility of the decision-making process within the Council.
Morocco, which has served on the African Union Peace and Security Council for a two-year term 2018-2020, has contributed constructively to the improvement of working methods and the establishment of good practices. The Kingdom also chaired in September 2019 this decision-making body of the pan-African organization.
The presidency by the Kingdom of the Council for the month of September 2019, has been rich in actions on peace, security, development and the fight against climate change.
The mandate of the Moroccan presidency of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union was marked by the adoption of important resolutions including the lifting of the suspension of Sudan from all activities of the African Union, the holding of the ministerial session of the Peace and Security Council in New York, the session on the interaction between the Council and the African Union and the AU Commission, and the important meeting on climate change and its impact on island states in Africa.
What are the perspectives of the Kingdom’s second three-year term within the Peace and Security Council of the African Union?
During Morocco’s second term within the Peace and Security Council, our country will work to strengthen its efforts to consolidate peace and security on the African continent according to an efficient approach that takes into account the different variables on the continent in a difficult continental context marked by complex and multiple challenges.
From this point of view, Morocco will endeavor, as usual, to bring together the points of view and to contribute to give a new impetus to the efforts of the various actors and parties concerned with the issues of peace and security in Africa, the objective being to ensure a thorough treatment of the current challenges and thus to reach sustainable and realistic solutions.
Morocco will also work to give a new dynamism to the concept of preventive diplomacy, especially in its aspect related to mediation as a tool that has proven its effectiveness in the search for peaceful and sustainable solutions to crises on the African continent.
The presence of the Kingdom in the Peace and Security Council is also an opportunity to review Morocco’s integrated and multidimensional approach to peace and security in the African continent, particularly through governance, peace, security and development.
This approach is capable of achieving the stability and prosperity to which the peoples of the African continent aspire, with the need to respect the principles of good neighborliness and non-interference in the internal affairs of States, which constitute an imperative for the consolidation of peace and security.
What are the highlights of the Moroccan presidency of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union for this month of October?
The Moroccan presidency of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union for the month of October will be marked by the organization of several meetings of great importance for the African continent.
Two ministerial meetings will be held on the following themes: development and de-radicalization as levers to fight terrorism and violent extremism, and climate change, peace and security: building resilience and adaptation for food security in African island states.
In addition to these two important events, the Moroccan presidency will be marked by other actions relating, among others, to the worrying security situation in Africa, the fight against terrorism with a focus on Morocco’s comprehensive and integrated approach in accordance with the guidelines of HM King Mohammed VI, in addition to climate change, food security and the implementation of the COP 22 initiative.
During its presidency, Morocco will host a political conference in Tangier from October 25-27, 2022, on “Promoting the Nexus of Peace, Security, and Development, a perspective of regional integration,” in partnership with the African Union’s Department of Political Affairs, Peace, and Security.
What about the Tangier conference?
It is important to underline the significance of the various meetings that will be organized by Morocco during its presidency of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union in accordance with the farsighted vision of His Majesty the King who places the African citizen at the center of his concerns and who works for the strengthening of the dimensions of Peace, Security and Development for the emergence of a strong, united and peaceful Africa.
From this point of view, the Tangier Conference on “Promoting the Nexus of Peace, Security and Development, a perspective of regional integration”, will be an opportunity to identify with all stakeholders exemplary projects that have a real impact on the daily lives of African citizens and that will help eradicate the causes of extremism and terrorism on the continent.
The conference will be marked by the adoption of the Tangier Declaration, which will enshrine the importance of the relationship between peace, security, and development in strategies and programs to establish peace and security and to combat terrorism and extremism on the African continent.
