Morocco chaired, on Wednesday, a plenary session on guaranteeing migrants' right of access to basic services, as part of the second regional review of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration - Marrakech Compact - taking place in Cairo on July 03-04.
The plenary session was attended by representatives of Arab governments, international organizations, institutions and NGOs concerned with migration issues.
Speaking on this occasion, Director of Global Issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Ismail Chekkouri, stressed the importance of effectively implementing Goal 15 of the Global Compact, which aims to guarantee migrants' right of access to basic services.
The challenges and crises facing the Arab region have not prevented these countries, and Morocco in particular, from making progress, implementing programs and developing best practices to give migrants access to basic services, including health, education and vocational training, he noted.
Speaking at a high-level session on regular migration pathways, Chekkouri highlighted the vital interest the Kingdom of Morocco places in implementing the noble and pragmatic objectives of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, in line with the High Directions contained in the Royal Message addressed by HM King Mohammed VI to the Intergovernmental Conference for the adoption of the Compact held in Marrakech in December 2018, in which the Sovereign stressed that “the Global Compact is not an end in itself. It will be meaningful only if it is effectively implemented”.
In this regard, he recalled Morocco's approach, which gives primacy to the principles of dialogue, cooperation and solidarity with its partners, and aims to enshrine the principles of regional and international governance beneficial to all parties, on the basis of a convention with clear commitments.
He also called for joint efforts to highlight the positive contribution of migrants to the achievement of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and to combat the rise in hatred, racism and discrimination targeting this category.
The second regional review of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is held on the initiative of the Arab League, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the United Nations Network on Migration.
