The Moroccan presidency of the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will engage with credibility, dynamism, and the pursuit of constructive consensus to achieve the objectives of this UN body, said, Tuesday in Geneva, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccans living abroad, Nasser Bourita.
"Building on its achievements at the national level and in line with its international commitments, the Moroccan presidency of the UNHRC will engage with the same principles, values, and working methods that characterize Moroccan diplomacy, under the High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, namely credibility in action, dynamism in performance, innovation in methods, and pursuit of constructive consensus to achieve the lofty goals for which this body was created," Bourita said in his address to the high-level segment of the 55th session of the UNHRC, chaired by Morocco.
The election of the Kingdom to head this important UN body, he assured, is an international recognition of Morocco's firm commitment, under the High Directives of HM King Mohammed VI, to promoting human rights at national, regional, and international levels.
"Thanks to the farsighted vision of HM the King, Morocco has made significant progress in establishing an integrated human rights system through the implementation of several reform projects and quality initiatives, such as the Moroccan experience in transitional justice, the reform of the Family Code, the national initiative for human development, the development model for the Southern provinces, the new development model, and the generalization of social protection, all of which are royal projects that set the standard for human rights," he explained.
The FM also recalled that "the 55th session of the UNHRC is taking place in a complex international context, which raises difficult challenges, notably the strong polarization at the international level, which undermines the foundations of a global consensus for the promotion of human rights, the persistence of serious human rights violations in many parts of the world, the decline in the international gains on fundamental issues such as the enjoyment of economic and social rights, the status of women, the rights of the child, the situation of migrants and refugees, and the rise of hate speech."
Despite the remarkable achievements of the Council since its inception, it faces challenges that hinder its evolution, as it currently experiences attempts to instrumentalize certain issues and divert its objectives to serve agendas that have nothing to do with human rights, he noted.
The Kingdom of Morocco, through its presidency of the UNHRC, would be working to launch a series of initiatives, including a special session of the Council on a consensual theme to be agreed on, a retreat to assess the Council's effectiveness and draw practical recommendations as part of the process of reviewing the UN body's working methods, scheduled for 2026, and an initiative to be launched with a group of partners on women in diplomacy, particularly in the field of human rights.
On the sidelines of his participation in the 55th session of the UNHRC, the Moroccan FM held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Bahrain, Kazakhstan, and the Netherlands. He also held talks with the High Commissioner for Refugees and the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
