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Rabat – Omar Zniber, Morocco’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations Office in Geneva, has stressed Morocco’s commitment to the fight against xenophobia and racism.
Zniber reiterated the North African country’s anti-racism efforts while speaking on the first day of the 46th regular session of the Human Rights Council. The meeting set to last from February 22 to March 23, is designed to discuss global solidarity to act against racism and other forms of discrimination in the post-COVID-19 world.
“Morocco has always [shown] unwavering commitment to respecting the fundamental principles of the Durban Declaration,” the ambassador said, referring to the Declaration against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance drafted in South Africa in 2001.
Morocco will host the World Summit of the Alliance of Civilizations as part of its commitment to fight all forms of discrimination, Zniber announced.
Initially set to take place in 2020, the event has been postponed to an unspecified date. But the Moroccan ambassador confirmed the summit will take place as soon as the global health situation allows it.
Zniber highlighted Morocco’s commitment to both global and pan-African solidarity, pointing to the assistance that the country has provided to some twenty African nations during the early, more distressing months of the pandemic.
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He also addressed Morocco’s efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic on a broader scale. The ambassador pointed to the Moroccan government’s measures to ensure access to healthcare for all residents, regardless of nationality or the status of settlement.
Morocco’s national vaccination campaign has had considerable success so far, the ambassador said, noting that access to vaccines is also free of charge for Moroccan citizens and residents.
Having vaccinated 2,552,017 people to date, Morocco boasts 94% of Africa’s total vaccinated population.
“These elements make Morocco today a recognized space for living together and give it a leading role at the regional and international level in the fight against racism,” Zniber said.
The ambassador concluded, “The pandemic has not affected men and women in the same way, children as the elderly, thus marking a structural inequality, even in a dimension where no distinction should be made, on the basis of any categorization.”
