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Rabat – Morocco addressed the African Union’s (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) on Wednesday, emphasizing the importance of African cooperation to strengthen the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS).
The Early Warning System (EWS) is a precautionary emergency system that is put in place to rapidly respond to threats, including armed conflicts and terrorism.
According to the Science Direct database, the EWS “represents the set of capacities needed to generate and disseminate timely and meaningful warning information that enables at-risk individuals, communities and organizations to prepare and act appropriately and in sufficient time to reduce harm or loss.”
During the PSC meeting held in Addis Ababa, Permanent Representative of Morocco to the AU Mohamed Arrouchi outlined Morocco’s multidimensional approach in combating threats hampering peace and security on the African continent.
The Moroccan ambassador also stressed the need for an inter-African cooperation that aims to strengthen the CEWS as the cornerstone of continental peace and security.
Arrouchi led a Moroccan delegation to the meeting to discuss threats posed by non-state actors and separatist groups in the continent.
These groups participate in “the illicit trade in psychotropic substances, the exploitation of migrants and children and other organized crime activities,” the ambassador warned.
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Morocco has long warned against child exploitation by separatists groups, including the Polisario Front.
Last week, Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita condemned the recruitment of children in Tindouf camps in Algeria.
Bourita also deplored Algeria’s inaction to help children being exploited in the military.
“The indoctrination and recruitment of children by the armed militias of the ‘Polisario’ constitute an inhuman crime, and a denial of the basic rights of recruited children, as well as a flagrant violation of the resolutions adopted by the Security Council on the matter,” the minister said.
He said that the number of children living in conflict zones across the world with risk of being recruited by armed groups has tripled, jumping from less than 5% in 1990 to over 14% in 2020.
Echoing Morocco’s concerns, Arnouchi said that the CEWS can be strengthened through mobilizing sufficient financial and technical resources and producing reliable data.
As part of the South-South cooperation, Morocco called for structural reforms to protect the peace in the Sahara and the Sahel regions The reforms aimed to mobilize financial and human resources across the regions in order to act against terrorism.
The Global Terrorism Index report, published on March 1, ranked Morocco at the 76th among the countries impacted by terrorism. The report also noted Morocco’s active role in counterterrorism.
