Agadir – Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita has called for stronger international action against non-state armed groups, warning that their growing influence poses risks to state security, sovereignty, and international stability.
Bourita made the remarks on Tuesday in a speech delivered on behalf of Morocco during the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The minister said the international community needs to redefine its priorities in response to an increasingly complex global security environment, marked by overlapping military, economic, energy, and environmental crises.
He warned that non-state armed groups have expanded their activities beyond traditional conflict zones and are increasingly affecting maritime routes and strategic straits, including by disrupting international shipping.
According to figures cited by Bourita, more than 200 million people worldwide now live under the control of these groups or in areas experiencing intense struggles for power. He also said that more than 130 non-state armed groups have been classified as parties to armed conflicts.
The UN’s summary of Bourita’s address similarly reported that non-state armed groups have grown considerably and now threaten maritime corridors and straits. The UN statement said Bourita linked such groups to terrorist organizations, criminal networks, and mercenary elements.
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Armed groups and separatist militias have close links with other non-state actors, including terrorist organizations and cross-border criminal networks, Bourita argued. He rejected the idea that such entities could serve as peaceful or constructive actors in conflict-resolution processes.
“These groups, as well as their sponsors, cannot be allowed to become a means of evading accountability or a tool for carrying out what States cannot do directly,” Bourita said, according to the UN summary.
He called for international mechanisms to hold accountable states that sponsor, finance, arm, or provide shelter to non-state armed groups.
Morocco’s top diplomat also urged the international community to impose deterrent sanctions on armed groups and those supporting them, stressing that responsibility should extend to parties that finance such groups, supply them with weapons, or provide them with safe havens.
Beyond security issues, Bourita called for greater international action on climate change, saying the issue is increasingly affecting water and food security, territorial stability, economies, and living conditions.
He said Morocco’s climate efforts need to be accompanied by broader international measures, including accessible financing, technology transfers, and greater international solidarity.
