Ambassador to UN Outlines HM the King’s Humanist Vision for Migration

Morocco’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, highlighted, on Wednesday in New York, the humanistic vision adopted by Morocco in the field of migration under the farsighted leadership of HM King Mohammed VI. Morocco’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, highlighted, on Wednesday in New York, the humanistic vision adopted by Morocco in the field of migration under the farsighted leadership of HM King Mohammed VI. These statements came during a round-table discussion co-chaired by the Moroccan ambassador, which was held as part of the 1st Forum to review the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, adopted in Marrakech in 2018. “Morocco’s good practices in migration, initiated in accordance with the humanistic vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, are part of a concrete and measurable logic,” the Moroccan diplomat further stressed. During this meeting devoted to objectives 1, 3, 7, 17 and 23 of the Marrakech Pact, Hilale said that in this regard and in accordance with the 1st objective of the Pact, Morocco carries a discourse of truth, based on knowledge, data, evidence and relevant best practices. He also noted, during the meeting he co-chaired with the Head of the National Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan Vusal Huseynov, that in line with the 3rd objective of the Covenant, the “relevance of our action can not be acquired without a calm exchange of reliable information.” “Morocco refuses to sacrifice the nexus-development-migration in favor of a strictly security approach,” he noted, adding that Morocco, faithful to the achievement of Goal 7, addresses the vulnerabilities of migrants, both to preserve their physical, mental and social integrity. In this respect, he insisted that “addressing the vulnerabilities related to migration is to reduce exclusion and discrimination,” adding that in order to comply with Goal 17, the tools of Morocco are legal, political and economic. The Moroccan ambassador also said that “the form is only the expression of the substance, a balanced and positive discourse is the corollary of concrete achievements on the ground”, while stressing the determination to combat any instrumentalization of the migration issue for political, racist, xenophobic, or discriminatory purposes. Referring to Goal 23 of the Marrakech Pact, which enshrines an assimilation at all levels, Hilale said that Morocco is aware of the structural and global dimension of migration and has, therefore, made its integration into its resolutely multilateral approach a strategic priority. In this regard, the Moroccan diplomat further noted that “these different actions are by no means exhaustive,” explaining that “they serve to share good, duplicable and disseminable practices, in a spirit of cooperation and sharing.” He also insisted on the need for a collective commitment to integrate ambitious practices, in line with the Global Compact, in migration policies. In this regard, it is essential to accelerate efforts, at all levels, to strengthen the dissemination of reliable information, to expand migrants’ access to services, to continue the elimination of discourses of systemic racism and finally to increase our cooperation, he added. The permanent representative of Morocco to the UN has also indicated that the present round-table discussion is a “necessary aggiornamento” to strengthen the mechanisms, platforms and frameworks already in place. “We are faced with the injunction to succeed. The insufficient use of empirical data, combined with misleading, discriminatory and xenophobic migration narratives contribute to policies and practices that make migration dangerous, disorderly and irregular,” he lamented. He further emphasized, in the same context, the collective responsibility to put migration in its true proportions and to tell its story objectively and not in fantasy. “This is the collective challenge we must take up.” Hilale also noted that two months after the organization of the first ministerial meeting of the Pact’s champion countries in Rabat, the international community finds itself today in an expanded and strengthened configuration through a mobilization that is equal to the challenges and opportunities we face. The meeting of the champion countries in Rabat allowed to note major advances, marking a “before” and an “after”, both at the national and international levels, he said, adding that in the face of the only New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants adopted in 2016 protecting refugees, “we now have, in a spirit of complementarity, its counterpart covering all aspects of migration.” “Faced with situations of tension between countries of origin, transit and destination, we are now facing a situation of cooperation and mutual assistance,” said Hilale, explaining that migration “is no longer a taboo. It has acquired thanks to the Pact a global dimension that allows it to be discussed, in a relaxed and open manner, in its various dimensions.” He further emphasized that in the face of a biased and distorted vision of migration, “we now have a cooperation framework that promotes the contribution of migration as a factor of innovation, prosperity and sustainable development.” “In a situation of information scarcity, we now have structured, informed and informative regional networks,” he added, noting that although COVID-19 highlighted structural inequalities, it reinforced the timeliness of the Pact and served as a gas pedal for practices that take advantage of the benefits of safe, orderly and regular migration. “Never before has the status of migrants been so highlighted in terms of their contribution to the health, food and human services sectors,” the ambassador noted, pointing out that their real contribution stands in contrast to narratives motivated by racism, xenophobia, discrimination and misinformation. Hilale called it wrong to suggest that migration can be understood without disaggregated data, stressing the importance of addressing challenges only by naming them. “It is wrong to think that actions can only be taken by States alone. Migrants, as well as civil society, are and must be at the center of the formulation of solutions”, said the Moroccan diplomat, considering that migration is not essentially a movement of people from South to North, South-South exchanges are more important today.” He also noted that the first lines of COVID-19 denied that developed countries can do without the migration phenomenon, calling not to consider migration as a simple flow. “It is first and foremost a set of rights for the benefit of migrants, with respect for their dignity,” concluded the ambassador. This fourth round-table discussion, which is part of the 1st International Migration Review Forum (May 17-20), was marked by the participation of the President of the National Council for Human Rights (CNDH), Amina Bouayach, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, Liu Zhenmin, and the Director of the New York office of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Craig Mokhiber. Initiated by the UN General Assembly, the Forum, which brings together Member States, observers, representatives of the UN system in addition to stakeholder groups, aims to review progress made at the local, national, regional and global levels in the implementation of the Marrakesh Pact and to address further concrete actions to better protect and support the more than 281 million migrants worldwide through changes in policies and practices.