Morocco appointed co-facilitator of UN Declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness & Response

Morocco, in the person of its Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, has been appointed by President of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, to co-facilitate, with Israeli peer Gilad Erdan, the first-ever UN process of negotiation of the political declaration that will crown the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention, preparedness and response to pandemics.

This meeting, scheduled to take place during the high-level week of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2023, will be marked by consultations with all UN member states, and on which Morocco and Israel will take the lead in adopting a Political Declaration at the level of Heads of State and Government.

This major declaration, the first of its kind, is aimed primarily at mobilizing political will at the national, regional, and international levels for the prevention, preparedness, and response to pandemics and will contribute to the global process, currently being led by the World Health Organization (WHO), to develop a convention or international legal instrument in this area, under the WHO Constitution.

Likewise, this declaration will provide the necessary tools and evidence-based knowledge for the international community to be better prepared for future pandemics, including health systems, economies, supply chains, labor markets, public confidence, social and political stability, etc.

The UN designation of Morocco is a strong endorsement of the forward-looking and preventive strategy put in place under the far-sighted leadership of King Mohammed VI, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Morocco’s management, surveillance and response to COVID-19 have been praised and cited as an example on numerous occasions by the international community.

 

Actually, Morocco adopted an anticipatory and proactive approach to control the pandemic and cope with its impacts. This multidimensional approach has been marked, in particular, by the creation of a Special Fund for the management of the pandemic, and the voluntary contribution of all public and private institutions to this Fund, which is the equivalent of 3% of the national GDP.

In accordance with its principles of solidarity, South-South and international cooperation and promotion of multilateralism, Morocco has conducted, at the King’s instructions, a medical aid operation, for the benefit of more than 20 African countries and the African Union Commission in order to support their efforts in the different phases of COVID-19 management. Similarly, the royal initiative to build a vaccine manufacturing plant (including COVID-19 vaccines) and the creation of an African bio-pharmaceutical and vaccine innovation cluster in Morocco, will not only ensure Moroccan health sovereignty, but also allow it to export vaccines to other African countries, thus strengthening its vocation as a provider of health security on the continent.

In addition, this designation of Morocco demonstrates the credibility, trust, and respect that the Kingdom enjoys at the UN level as an active and committed player in shaping global action to prepare for, prevent, detect, and respond to potential health emergencies collectively and rapidly.