AU PRC: Morocco’s Humanitarian Policy, Fundamental Pillar of its Foreign Policy – Amb. –

Morocco’s humanitarian policy is a fundamental pillar of the Kingdom’s foreign policy, Ambassador Mohamed Arrouchi, Permanent Representative of Morocco to the African Union (AU) and the UNECA, said before the AU Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC), which is holding in Addis Ababa its preparatory session for the next Summit of the Union. The Moroccan diplomat, who spoke during the review of the report on the humanitarian situation in Africa for the year 2022, highlighted the Kingdom’s active contribution in mitigating the impact of humanitarian crises in the world through its effective participation in peacekeeping operations and humanitarian actions. Arrouchi, who leads the Moroccan delegation at this session, highlighted the active solidarity that guides the Kingdom’s humanitarian action, demonstrated particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this regard, Arrouchi pointed out that the Royal Armed Forces have deployed several military hospitals and have provided services to local populations and refugees in several countries around the world. As president of the humanitarian segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Kingdom has also launched a call for action to support the humanitarian response in the fight against Covid-19, the Moroccan diplomat stressed. Regarding the registration of refugees, Arrouchi said that this is a fundamental tool for the protection of refugees and a necessary indicator in the evaluation of humanitarian assistance to them. In this sense, Morocco recalls the responsibility of host countries in this registration process, essential to avoid any exploitation of refugees, especially the recruitment of children into armed militias. Like other delegations, Morocco stressed that the figures given in the report on the humanitarian situation in Africa in 2022 concerning refugees are inaccurate and that the AU Commission is invited to conform to the official statistics of the UNHCR, which has the exclusive mandate for data on refugees. Consequently, the Moroccan delegation reiterated its request to the AU Commission to rectify these figures in accordance with the statistics of the relevant UN agencies. The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the African Union had begun, last Monday in Addis Ababa, its 45th ordinary session in preparation for the next AU Summit scheduled for next February.