Omar Hilale Nominated as Co-Facilitator for UN Pandemic Declaration

Rabat – The President of the United Nations General Assembly nominated Morocco’s permanent ambassador at the UN Omar Hilale as co-facilitator on the UN declaration on “Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness.”

Hilale will co-facilitate the first UN General Assembly high-level meeting on the prevention and preparation of future pandemics, alongside Israel’s permanent ambassador Gilald Erdan.

The summit is scheduled for the week of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2023.

This meeting will hold consultations with all UN member states, during which Morocco and Israel will be leading and seeking to adopt a political declaration at the level of heads of states and governments. 

This declaration is the first of its kind, and intends to raise awareness on the national, regional, and international levels about the prevention and the preparation of the response to pandemics. 

Appointing Morocco to lead this summit aligns with King Mohammed VI’s preventative strategy following the COVID-19 outbreak, which was recognized by various international countries. 

Morocco’s participation is under the framework of the “south-south” vision, that refers to the technical cooperation among developing countries in the Global South, to share knowledge and initiatives on topics such as human rights and health. 

Following a 2021 consensus, the WHO decided to start a global process to draft and negotiate a convention or agreement to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. 

The UN declaration will support the WHO’s initiative as it will provide the necessary tools and knowledge to be more prepared for future pandemics.

Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the decision by the World Health Assembly was “historic in nature, vital in its mission”. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the many flaws in the global system to protect people from pandemics”, stressed the director-general. 

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