Assahafa.com
During an open debate at the UN Security Council on “The role of young people in combating security challenges in the Mediterranean”, held Wednesday in New York, the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, made biased references to the Moroccan Sahara and a fallacious parallel with Palestine.
Responding to the tendentious lies of the Algerian minister, Morocco’s ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilale recalled, if need be, that Morocco irreversibly covered its Sahara in 1975.
He affirmed that “peace and security in the region continue to be threatened by non-compliance with international law, the expansion of terrorism, interference in the internal affairs of neighboring countries, encouragement of separatism and the use of separatist armed groups linked to terrorism to threaten the territorial integrity of the member states of the region, as is the case for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco which irreversibly covered its Sahara in 1975” .
The diplomat also noted that Morocco has devised, for several decades, an immigration policy that is humanist, pragmatic and united, offering a land of welcome and dignity to refugees and young migrants, while guaranteeing their equal access to education, housing, health, vocational training and employment.
“This is unfortunately not the case for neighboring countries which continue to subject migrants, on their territories, to the worst violations of their rights, including abandoning them in the middle of the desert,” underlined the ambassador who also exposed the human rights violations suffered by the populations living in the Tindouf camps, in the South-East of Algeria.
Referring to the situation in the Mediterranean region, Hilale noted that this region, cradle of numerous civilizations and the three revealed religions, has become an epicenter of crises, war and tensions.
In this vein, he insisted on respect for the principles of good neighborliness and the peaceful settlement of disputes in the region, stressing that these principles must not remain hollow or repeated only during meetings like today’s.
These principles “must be respected and implemented on a daily basis by all Mediterranean countries, so that the Mare Nostrum truly becomes our common sea again, a sea of peace and hope for its young people”, he said during this meeting held under the presidency of Malta’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose country chairs the Security Council for the month of April.
Ambassador Hilale further noted that Morocco, an active and respected actor in the Mediterranean region, has put in place numerous commitments towards youth, mainly by including in its Constitution specific provisions for their empowerment and their participation in all aspects of social, economic, cultural and political development.
“These actions clearly demonstrate the place that young people enjoy within our society,” he argued, stressing that His Majesty King Mohammed VI considers youth as the true wealth of the country and the heart of the New development model.
The diplomat also highlighted the leading role that Morocco plays in favor of peace and security in the Mediterranean region and beyond, stating that the Kingdom adopts multidimensional strategies, with regional cooperation and international at their core, in order to fight against the scourges of terrorism, violent extremism and transnational organized crime.
He reaffirmed that Morocco, under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty the King, continues to be a haven of peace in our region, and contributes to collective efforts to make the two shores of the Mediterranean a crossroads of peace and stability, development, mutual respect, intercultural and civilizational dialogue, and an outstretched hand to all neighbors, for the well-being of all countries in the region.
Regarding the Palestinian question, the ambassador recalled that Morocco, whose Sovereign His Majesty King Mohammed VI is President of Al-Quds Committee, reaffirms its immutable position in support of the legitimate right of the Palestinian people, mainly the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Source: map
