King Mohammed pleads for larger representation of developing countries in Security Council
Morocco, Politics, 9/8/2000

Morocco's King Mohammed VI pleaded for a larger representation of developing countries in the security council and called for a permanent high-level mechanism to implement the international community's decisions in favor of Africa.

The call came in a message the king addressed to the Millenium summit currently held at the UN headquarters in New York and that was read out on his behalf by his brother, Prince Moulay Rachid.

The king called for updating some provisions of the UN charter while preserving the universal principles that were behind the creation of an organization which ought to play a key role in the macro-management of world problems.

The king's message insisted on the need to enlarge the representation of the developing world within the security council and to speed up the restructuring of the council so that this body, which is of paramount importance, reflects better the new geopolitical architecture of the world.

Touching on the situation in the African continent, King Mohammed VI underlined the imperative need to draw a strategy on various fronts, with emphasis on "a substantial reduction of its foreign debt, the lowering down of protectionist barriers that harm African products, which are already poorly developed and poorly remunerated, the adoption of programs geared to conflict diffusion, an accelerated promotion of human resources, a transfer of adapted technologies and an adequately structured financial assistance."

Morocco proposes, the king said, that "the UN Organization set up a permanent high level mechanism, entrusted with enforcing the decisions made by the international community in favor of Africa."

He urged world leaders to solemnly pledge to enter the new Millenium while drawing a new border for humankind, a border made up of "performance in justice and compassion in solidarity."

He explained that this new border for humankind is first based on a concept of "global human security" which means that everywhere, in all parts, "no child dies of hunger, no pandemic is propagated, no ethnic strive bursts, no woman is victim of discrimination or injured in her dignity, no right to speech has been violated, no immigrant has suffered exclusion, no man has been deprived from education, no trans-border waters have caused a conflict, no sanction has unduly penalized innocent populations."

The new border is also based on a "strategic and institutional coherence," as the success of local good governance depends on accomplished international democracy, spurred by a performing UN system, the king said.

He stated further that he was convinced that the establishment of a new international order of justice and equity will curb the dysfunction of world economy, reduce the pernicious effects of financial movements having a speculative character and enable to reduce the social and regional unbalances existing throughout the world.

It is likewise imperative, the king underlined, to seek new financing sources to sustained development, otherwise large segments of humankind will be doomed to poverty, creating a risk to generate world torments that may annihilate the recent progress at the level of international law and the relative appeasement witnessed at the ideological and geopolitical scales.

He renewed the call that was launched by his late father King Hassan II in April 1994 in Marrakesh during the launching of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the establishment of "a global multilateral governance," mainly through a better coordination and a greater coherence of the actions of the Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank and International Monetary Fund) and the WTO.

King Mohammed VI also dealt in his message with the gap existing in matters of new information technologies, saying only "a technological democracy recognizing the right to universal access to information technologies as a global public property" can fill the gap.

Nearly 150 heads of state and government are attending the millenium summit that is discussing ways to make the new century a better one for peoples of the world. The gathering kicked off Wednesday and is to wind up this Friday.

Previous Stories:
  Prince Moulay Rachid represents King Mohammed in millenium summit   (9/5/2000)
  Egyptian information minister asserts strength of Islamic information   (12/4/1999)
  Pope John Paul visits the Middle East in March   (11/19/1999)

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