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The work of national mechanisms for implementation, reporting, and follow-up (NMIRFs) “transcends the merely technical dimension to reach that, which is, far more substantially, political,” said the Interministerial Delegate for Human Rights, Mohammed El Habib Belkouch, on Tuesday in Geneva.
The action of these mechanisms “engages the credibility of our international commitments, the capacity of our states to fulfill them, and the trust that citizens place in their institutions and in international mechanisms,” Belkouch explained while chairing a high-level side event organized on the sidelines of the 61st session of the Human Rights Council (February 23–March 31).
In his address at the meeting, held under the theme “Moving the implementation agenda forward: next steps for the network of national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up and the NMIRF virtual hub,” the Interministerial Delegate stressed that “it is precisely because this challenge is first and foremost political that the response must be equally so.”
“NMIRFs cannot be reduced to simple administrative mechanisms: they are mechanisms with a clear mission, proceeding from a clearly assumed political will, that of making the implementation of international recommendations a structuring axis of governmental action,” he said.
According to Belkouch, the inclusion of NMIRFs on the UN agenda stems from a movement initiated nearly two decades ago. Resolutions 30/25, 36/29, 42/30, 51/33, and, more recently, resolution 60/27 have marked this journey, establishing these mechanisms as indispensable instruments of the institutional architecture of states.
Reviewing the Network’s achievements, the official highlighted the 2026–2030 Action Plan adopted during the Third International Seminar in Lisbon, structured around five priorities, namely: expanding the Network; strengthening communication, particularly through the digital platform; supporting the establishment and development of NMIRFs; capacity building and peer learning; and partnerships and resource mobilization.
The Interministerial Delegate affirmed that the Kingdom’s commitment to NMIRFs finds its source in the enlightened vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who has established human rights as the foundation of our democratic project, with the 2011 Constitution enshrining their primacy and establishing an institutional architecture centered on good governance and accountability.
He underscored Morocco’s leading role in advancing the international NMIRF dynamic, recalling the organization in December 2022 in Marrakech of the first international seminar, which led to the “Marrakech Declaration” establishing the International Network of NMIRFs, followed by the adoption in May 2024 of the Asunción Declaration—the Network’s founding act—developed in coordination with Paraguay and Portugal.
The Moroccan official also highlighted the adoption in October 2024 of the Marrakech Guidance Framework at the conclusion of the 10th Glion Dialogue, presented as a best-practice reference framework linking the implementation of international recommendations, the Sustainable Development Goals, and technological advancements.
He concluded by announcing Morocco’s readiness to host the Fourth International Seminar on NMIRFs, an event aimed at consolidating the Network’s achievements in the continuity of the spirit of Marrakech.
Source: map
