Morocco places humanitarian action at the heart of its foreign policy in accordance with the enlightened Royal vision

Morocco places humanitarian action at the heart of its foreign policy and its African cooperation, in accordance with the enlightened vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Ambassador Affirmed Tuesday before the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC). Permanent representative of the Kingdom to the AU and the UNECA, Mohamed Arrouchi.

The Kingdom has ensured, in accordance with the enlightened vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, as Champion of the AU on the theme of migration, to place humanitarian action at the heart of its foreign policy and its African cooperation and spares no effort to help alleviate humanitarian crises, wherever they are in Africa, underlined Mr. Arrouchi who was speaking during a public session of the AU PSC on refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and humanitarian aid in Africa.

The diplomat noted that Morocco’s humanitarian action is not limited to emergency aid or the establishment of field hospitals, but is part of a global vision, focused on sustainable actions to relieve the affected populations, making it known that this approach is also based on co-development, the sharing of expertise and the pooling of good practices.

This approach also includes the fight against the effects of climate change and desertification, the humanitarian consequences of which are already reflected in an increase in the number of climate refugees on the continent, he explained, adding that this approach is also accompanied by a clear commitment to responsible governance of humanitarian action.

The aim is to guarantee that the people concerned are themselves the beneficiaries of humanitarian aid, and that it is not diverted or exploited in practices detrimental to humanitarian action, continued Mr. Arrouchi.

The ambassador further reaffirmed that Morocco considers that humanitarian responses in Africa must be part of an integrated and multidimensional approach, combining humanitarian action, conflict prevention, mediation, peacebuilding and development, in order to sustainably address the root causes of forced displacement.

He also reaffirmed the need to pay particular attention to strengthening the resilience of communities affected by conflicts, natural disasters and climate shocks, in order to reduce their vulnerability to future crises.

The diplomat also highlighted the need to strengthen African capacities for anticipation, prevention and response to future humanitarian crises, particularly those linked to the effects of climate change, through the development of early warning, preparation and response mechanisms. resilience adapted to the realities of the continent.

He stressed the need to strengthen mechanisms for transparency, accountability, monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian action in Africa, in order to ensure that aid effectively reaches the populations concerned and to prevent any form of diversion, manipulation or exploitation of humanitarian resources.

Mr. Arrouchi also emphasized the need to strengthen the mechanisms for recording, monitoring and managing data relating to refugees and internally displaced persons, on the basis of credible, verified and regularly updated, in order to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian responses and guarantee adequate allocation of resources.

The diplomat also recalled that Africa is today going through a particularly worrying humanitarian situation, marked by the succession of unprecedented human waves fleeing the horrors of conflicts and the dangers caused by multiple climatic shocks, the slowdown in economic activity and the rise in food insecurity and malnutrition in several regions of the continent.

This situation has created humanitarian needs of exceptional magnitude, to which the collective response has remained, in many respects, insufficient and ineffective, due to national, regional and continental constraints, he said.

He considered that faced with this humanitarian crisis hitting the continent, the urgency is to focus on everything that is operational and pragmatic, by adopting a rational approach, by proposing lasting solutions and by identifying proactive proposals, capable of enlightening us on the optimal path for the establishment of a new African humanitarian order.

In this regard, he called for consecrating the primacy of preventive action in the face of increasingly frequent and complex shocks.