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Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita emphasized the importance of shared responsibility between parties to conflicts to contribute to the finding of solutions to end disputes.
During a virtual ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends of UN Mediation, the Moroccan foreign minister said that external mediators could not replace the actual parties involved in conflict situations.
He added that involved parties must assume their responsibility in the “creation and maintenance of the conflict.”
Without genuine diplomatic ambitions, the success of mediation will remain “elusive, even impossible to achieve,” Bourita said.
During the virtual meeting, co-chaired by Turkey and Finland, the Moroccan FM recalled the several mediation initiatives the North African country took in the Sahel, Middle East, and Mano River regions, as well as in Libya.
“With no hidden agenda, the approach that Morocco constantly advocates is to ensure that the Libyan parties exercise national ownership of the political process.
The Moroccan FM has constantly emphasized Morocco’s principles of non-interference in domestic mediation processes.
The North African country frequently condemned interference in Libya’s affairs by foreign entities.
Morocco is part of the countries that are contributing to the UN-led political process to find a mutually acceptable solution to the Libyan conflict.
As part of its efforts, Morocco hosted several meetings, convening parties to the Libyan conflict in Bouznika and Tangier.
Libyan parties have repeatedly expressed gratitude and satisfaction with Morocco’s support efforts.
In his statement to the virtual meeting attendees, Bourita emphasized Morocco’s insistence on the need to strengthen mediation in UN peace and security mechanisms.
Mediation has “proven to be an important mechanism in the prevention of conflicts as it has demonstrated its ability to adapt to profound changes in disputes,” the Moroccan official argued.
Mediation will become more important in the post-COVID world due to the increase in more complex challenges.
Bourita said that 21st-century mediation must be able to count on coalitions of the Member States that are committed to advancing the agenda of mediation as a “tool of preventive diplomacy.”
The Group of Friends on mediation constitutes a platform for sharing best practices, defending the centrality of the UN, and promoting the common vision for the future of mediation, the FM concluded.
