Prince Moulay Rachid returns home after millenium summit
Morocco, Politics, 9/11/2000

Morocco's Prince Moulay Rachid flew back home Sunday evening coming from New York where he represented King Mohammed VI at the millenium summit held at the UN headquarters September 6-8.

Prince Moulay Rachid read out the Moroccan sovereign's message to the world gathering wherein he pleaded for a larger representation of developing countries in the security council, for setting up a permanent high-level mechanism to implement the international community's decisions in favor of Africa, and for drawing a strategy, targeting "a substantial reduction of (Africa's) foreign debt, the lowering of protectionist barriers that harm African products, which are already poorly developed and poorly remunerated, the adoption of programs to defuse conflicts, an accelerated promotion of human resources, a transfer of adapted technologies and an adequately structured financial assistance."

On the sidelines of the summit, Prince Moualy Rachid conferred with UN secretary general Kofi Annan as well as with several heads of state attending the world gathering.

The United Nations Millennium Summit that was attended by nearly 150 heads of state and government, adopted a Declaration wherein the heads of state and government pledged to establish a just and lasting peace all over the world in accordance with the objectives and principles of the Charter, to solve disputes by peaceful means and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and to foster international cooperation in solving international problems of economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character.

They also pledged to ensure that globalization becomes a positive force for all the world's people, be fully inclusive and equitable, being aware that developing countries and countries with economies in transition face special difficulties in responding to the globalization challenge deemed as a central challenge.

The Declaration listed some fundamental values deemed essential to international relations such as freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature, shared responsibility and identified the key objectives to translate these shared values into actions, mainly through consolidation of peace, security and disarmament, and strengthening of the respect for the rule of law, in international as in national affairs.

World leaders also committed themselves to taking concerted action against international terrorism, to counter the world drug problem, to intensify efforts to fight transnational crime in all its dimensions, including trafficking as well as smuggling in human beings and money laundering and to minimize the adverse effects of United Nations economic sanctions on innocent populations

They likewise pledged to spare no effort to free fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of them are currently subjected, to make the right to development a reality for everyone, to free the entire human race from want, and to create an environment -- at the national and global levels alike -- which is conducive to development and to the elimination of poverty.

Regarding the special needs of Africa, the world leaders pledged to support the consolidation of democracy in Africa and assist Africans in their struggle for lasting peace, poverty eradication and sustainable development, thereby bringing Africa into the mainstream of the world economy.

Previous Stories:
  King Mohammed pleads for larger representation of developing countries in Security Council   (9/8/2000)
  Prince Moulay Rachid represents King Mohammed in millenium summit   (9/5/2000)

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