Here follows the full text of the royal message, which was read out by Head of Government, Saad Eddine El Othmani:
"Praise be to God,
May peace and blessings be upon the Prophet, His Kith and Kin
Mr. Secretary-General of the United Nations Organization,
Distinguished Heads of State and Government,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me pleasure to send this Message to the High-Level Meeting on Action for Peacekeeping.
I should like, in this regard, to express my sincere thanks to His Excellency Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations Organization, for this important, commendable initiative. I also wish to assure him of the Kingdom's full support for the reforms he 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.
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.
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
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.
Naturally, as soon as it was launched, 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.
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. To that end, the following principles should be observed:
- Firstly, the core principles of peacekeeping operations must be safeguarded, particularly those relating 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.
- Secondly, the mandates given to Peacekeeping Operations must be realistic, pragmatic, achievable and adequately funded.
- Thirdly, crisis resolution must remain the ultimate goal of peacekeeping operations; this requires greater mobilization to promote political solutions and prevention and mediation initiatives.
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Before concluding, I would like to commend this reform in which special importance is attached to the African Continent. Indeed, Africa is home to a number of Peacekeeping Operations, which I wholeheartedly support.
The Kingdom of Morocco is one of the UN’s most committed African partners on the Continent. It is involved in two of the UN’s most complex peacekeeping operations, namely those in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Since it regained its natural seat within its institutional family - namely the African Union - and its election to the AU Peace and Security Council, Morocco has spared no effort to consolidate the strategic partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in the area of peace and security.
My country will continue its action to support and consolidate all initiatives aimed at preventing regional conflicts and at stemming their impacts on the Continent, making sure state sovereignty and territorial integrity are preserved.
The time has come for all UN Member States to provide the appropriate support required to the African Union and to African countries, thereby supplying this partnership with the necessary means to broaden its scope and achieve the desired effectiveness. This is an investment in the future, for global stability hinges on stability in Africa.
Thank you.
Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh."