King Mohammed VI Calls For Greater Transparency in Humanitarian Action

King Mohammed VI has called the world humanitarian summiteers gathering in Istanbul (May 23-24) to adopt a proactive approach to help promote humanitarian action which needs to be carried out with “greater transparency” and “verifiable accountability.’’

This world event is taking place at a crucial juncture wherein the number of refugees and displaced persons in the world is soaring, not to mention “unprecedented waves of people fleeing the scourge of war, the dangers caused by natural disasters and the adverse impacts of climate change or appalling economic conditions in their countries”, said the Moroccan Sovereign in a message addressed to the Istanbul world humanitarian summit.

To tackle the suffering and tragedies resulting from such situations, “attention today should primarily be given to measures that are practical, using a rational approach and adopting proactive, forward-looking proposals that can help promote humanitarian action, without exploitation for political purposes”, added King Mohammed VI.

“Ever since my accession to the throne of the Kingdom of Morocco, I have keenly sought to make humanitarian work one of the pillars of the Kingdom’s foreign policy,” stressed the Monarch.

“I am particularly proud that Morocco has made significant contributions to alleviating the impacts of humanitarian crises wherever they happened, especially in the countries of the South,” he added.

“Whenever the need arose, Morocco was one of the first countries to provide humanitarian assistance to those affected by natural disasters or armed conflicts, giving food, medicines and tents, and also deploying multi-specialty field hospitals, as was the case in Palestine, Tunisia and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to alleviate the suffering of our Syrian and Libyan brothers and sisters,” recalled King Mohammed VI.

In addition to these field operations, Morocco has been involved in mediation and has sought to promote dialogue and cooperation, in addition to participating actively in a number of UN peacekeeping operations, he recalled.

King Mohammed VI also cited the exhibition organized on the sidelines of the summit, showing Morocco’s contribution to humanitarian work and missions carried out by Moroccan military contingents.

However, the Kingdom’s contributions in the humanitarian field are not limited to emergency aid. In fact, “our action in this area is part of a broader approach whereby we seek to alleviate the suffering of vulnerable groups through projects for sustainable development, particularly in sub-Saharan African countries,” said the Sovereign.

When trying to deal with refugee crises around the world, “we should avoid the risk of refugees being exploited or denied their most basic rights, including the right to be registered and counted”, added the Monarch. He stressed that “this is a fundamental procedure stipulated by international humanitarian law to ensure international protection for refugees, assess their needs and ascertain the civilian nature of the camps hosting them.”

For this reason, “I call for greater efficiency and transparency in the area of humanitarian action, together with verifiable accountability and specific monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.”

The Sovereign stressed the necessity to make sure refugees – and no one else – benefit from humanitarian aid and to ensure that the aid delivered is not diverted or used for purposes that are damaging to humanitarian action.