Assahafa.com
Morocco has reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to advancing women’s rights in peace and security by extending the country’s first National Action Plan on the UN Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda through 2026.
The official launch took place on Thursday in New York, in a ceremony chaired by Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The high-level event gathered foreign ministers from across Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas, alongside UN Women’s Executive Director Sima Bahous, noting the global scope of the agenda and Morocco’s positioning as an active partner in its implementation.
Bourita described Morocco’s extension of the action plan as a reflection of a national conviction; sustainable peace and inclusive development cannot exist without safeguarding women’s rights.
His remarks resonated with the symbolic weight of the moment, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, and the 30th anniversary of the landmark Beijing Declaration on women’s rights.
“Without the rights of women,” Bourita told participants, “neither peace nor inclusive development can truly endure.”
A two-year extension to consolidate progress
By prolonging the plan for two additional years, Morocco aims to protect existing achievements as well as adapt to new and pressing challenges.
According to Bourita, the decision is anchored in several key priorities: conflict prevention, protecting women from violence, strengthening female participation in security and defense, and ensuring legal protections for women and girls.
Judicial reforms, broader mobilization of security institutions, and the integration of gender equality into education are among the measures intended to embed these principles more deeply into Moroccan society.
The country currently ranks ninth among UN troop contributors, with more than 3,400 personnel deployed, including 120 women.
Nearly one-third of Morocco’s peacekeeping experts are women, a figure that Bourita described as the outcome of deliberate reforms. Since 2013, female officers have received access to advanced military training and operational planning roles, preparing them to influence decision-making at higher levels.
The extension also ties into Morocco’s broader domestic reforms. Bourita noted that the country’s 2011 Constitution enshrines gender equality, while ongoing updates to the Family Code (Moudawana) and procedural laws aim to better protect women and girls from discrimination and violence. These efforts, he argued, are critical to creating a legal environment that supports the objectives of the WPS agenda.
A broader global context
Persistent gaps in legal protections, especially in areas tied to the Family Code, unequal economic participation, and recurring cases of gender-based violence point to the limits of institutional reforms.
Critics argue that without stronger enforcement mechanisms and more comprehensive social change, initiatives risk being celebrated abroad while falling short of transforming the daily realities of Moroccan women.
Source: Morocco word news
