Ambassador Mohamed Arrouchi, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom to the AU and UNECA, said during a ministerial meeting of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) held Friday and devoted to the financing of peace support operations (PSO), that Morocco pleads for predictable, sustainable and flexible financing of peace support operations.
Mr. Arrouchi noted the importance of this issue, noting that it is also a pressing one for the AU, especially for missions such as ATMIS in Somalia, which needs urgent mobilization of resources to ensure their viability.
Thus, Mr. Arrouchi recalled that the contribution to peacekeeping efforts, especially in Africa, is among the priorities of Morocco’s foreign policy.
Indeed, the diplomat noted that Morocco has always deployed a policy of solidarity and action in favor of peace and stability in Africa, through the contribution to UN and African peacebuilding efforts in terms of peaceful settlement of disputes.
In the same vein, Morocco’s commitment at the UN level is in line with its conviction that the United Nations is an international organization with exclusive competence in peacekeeping.
In parallel with its UN commitment, Morocco supports the AU’s efforts to promote peace, security, and stability in Africa.
In this context, Mr. Arrouchi recalled the message addressed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, to the High-Level Meeting on the “Action for Peacekeeping” initiative, held in New York on 25 September 2018, in which the Sovereign called on UN member states to support the AU to give the partnership the means to achieve the expected scope and effectiveness.
Furthermore, the diplomat stressed that Morocco believes that the partnership between the UN and the AU should be further strengthened to support conflict prevention and mediation structures and mechanisms, notably through the PSOs.