King Mohammed VI Fully Supports UN “Action for Peacekeeping” Initiative

King Mohammed VI has expressed Morocco’s full support to the “Action for Peacekeeping” Initiative launched by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.

In a message addressed to participants in the High-Level Meeting on Action for Peacekeeping, held Tuesday in New York on the sidelines of the 73rd session of UN General Assembly, the Sovereign stressed the importance of this initiative, voicing the Kingdom’s strong support for the reforms the Secretary General has undertaken at the United Nations.

“It is very satisfying to see such African mobilization for peacekeeping. Not only does peacekeeping concern Africa, but our Continent is also deeply committed to it”, added the Monarch in his message read out by Head of Govt Saad Eddine El Othmani.

“Having always attached special importance to stability and prosperity on the African Continent, the Kingdom of Morocco is convinced that this initiative, which has brought us together today, will make it possible to reaffirm, at the highest level, the international community’s commitment towards Africa”, said King Mohammed VI.

“It is not by chance that today’s meeting coincides with the 70th anniversary of Peacekeeping Operations. What better way to celebrate this formidable instrument for the promotion of peace and security offered to the international community by our Organization than to engage in peacekeeping actions, driven by a desire to ensure their sustainability and enhance their effectiveness”, stressed the Monarch.

As soon as it was launched (in March this year), “the Kingdom of Morocco backed the Action for Peacekeeping initiative, a key component of this reform. My country contributed in an active, constructive and consensual manner to the drafting of the Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations, which we are adopting today and endorsed it spontaneously and unreservedly”, he said.

“The Kingdom of Morocco fully supports this initiative because it is deeply convinced that Peacekeeping Operations constitute one of the most useful tools at the disposal of the international community. We need to act quickly and diligently to make sure peacekeeping operations achieve their objectives in full”, underlined the Moroccan Sovereign.

He called for the respect of the core principles of peacekeeping operations, particularly those related to “the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of States, consent, impartiality and non-use of force, except for self-defense or for the protection of the UN mandate”.

The mandates given to Peacekeeping Operations “must be realistic, pragmatic, achievable and adequately funded”, added King Mohammed VI, affirming that crisis resolution must remain the ultimate goal of peacekeeping operations, which requires greater mobilization to promote political solutions and prevention and mediation initiatives.