On the occasion of the ministerial conference of the Non-Aligned Movement, held on the sidelines of the 111th session of the International Labor Conference, the Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills Youness Sekkouri stressed the Kingdom's full support for the conclusions of the group's meeting, particularly with regard to "the role that social dialogue must play as a space for addressing the new challenges resulting from digitization, artificial intelligence and new economic modes."

The group must have clear frameworks in the field of employment and social integration, said Sekkouri, stressing the need to support the efforts of the International Labor Organization (ILO), to provide decent employment for young people, women and vulnerable groups who have suffered the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis.

Morocco wants the United Nations' development goals to be achieved through collective action, he added, calling for the criteria of geographical justice to be strengthened within the Organization, and for a better balance in the contribution of countries from different continents.

He also highlighted the Moroccan experience in establishing social dialogue, which led to a historic agreement last year with the most representative trade unions and employers' representatives, thus achieving qualitative progress in the social field, despite the repercussions of difficult economic conditions and geopolitical crises.

The Kingdom has put in place a number of sectoral strategies aimed at providing decent work through a strong investment dynamic, as part of the work carried out under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, explained Sekkouri.

On the social justice issue, the Minister pleaded for a resilient social protection system, pointing out that the Kingdom is striving, thanks to a major Royal project, to provide social coverage for all its citizens.

Last year, more than 11 million people joined the list of beneficiaries from this system, he said, noting Morocco's readiness to share its experience in establishing social dialogue, generalizing social protection and labor market mediation, as well as implementing essential reforms, notably that of vocational training.

In a meeting with Youssef Hosni, Secretary General of the Ministry of National Planning, Urban Development, Housing and Urban Policy - Department of Housing and Urban Policy, who heads the Moroccan delegation to the 2nd Session of the UN-Habitat Assembly (June 5-9), UN-Habitat Deputy Executive Director Michal Mlynar praised the Kingdom's efforts to promote the social and environmental sustainability of human settlements, and to ensure access to decent housing for all.

During the meeting, Michal Mlynar also reiterated UN-Habitat's readiness to support the Kingdom in implementing its policies and programs in the field of housing and urban planning.

The UN official also emphasized the dynamic cooperation that drives Morocco's actions within the UN-Habitat Executive Council, which earned him unanimous re-election to the Council for a second two-year term.

In this respect, he stressed that Morocco is "a model" of cooperation in the field of housing and urban planning.

For his part, Hosni reviewed the Morocco-UN-Habitat cooperation program, which will be renewed until 2025, noting that this program defines the concrete actions that the Ministry undertakes, in line with the actions and strategy of UN-Habitat.

Hosni also underlined Morocco's efforts to reduce the housing deficit (70% since 2002) and combat slums, noting that the Kingdom is well on the way to eradicating this scourge, after 60 Moroccan towns were declared slum-free.

During these talks, the two parties reviewed a series of bilateral and regional issues of common interest.

Bourita and Hanegbi also welcomed the sustained momentum for closer cooperation between the Kingdom and Israel in all areas, particularly in terms of security.

"The international community has a duty to take firm and urgent measures to protect children in all regions of the world from the dispossession of their childhood, the deprivation of their basic rights and their military enrolment by armed groups, including the +polisario+, so that today's children in the Tindouf camps do not become tomorrow's extremists or terrorists", stressed Hilale at the Oslo international conference on "Protecting Children in Armed Conflict".

In a written contribution to the debates of the Conference's second interactive Panel entitled "Engaging with armed actors to protect children", the Moroccan ambassador said it was appalling to see armed groups continuing, with impunity, to forcibly recruit and indoctrinate children for terrorist and military purposes.

"This is the case of the armed terrorist groups Daesh, Al Chabab, Boko Haram, as well as the +polisario+, which continue to violate all international instruments of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and impose their obscurantist ideologies and military indoctrination on children in several regions of the world," he said.

He pointed out that the children targeted by these terrorist groups are deprived of their childhood, their most basic rights, their education, their protection and their well-being, as well as being condemned to live with the heavy physical consequences and psychological after-effects of their recruitment by armed groups.

Hilale recalled that children in the Tindouf camps live at the mercy of a separatist armed group, the "polisario", and suffer all forms of abuse and exploitation, recruitment and enlistment as child soldiers, noting that social networks "have helped to expose these barbaric and criminal practices, and to lift the veil on what has been going on in the Tindouf camps for decades".

"This armed separatist group is fully responsible for the enlistment of children in the Tindouf camps, which constitutes a war crime", he noted, stressing that international law stipulates that the use, conscription or enlistment of children in armed forces or armed groups, or using them to participate actively in hostilities, constitutes a serious violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

Morocco's ambassador and permanent representative to the UN recalled that the direct responsibility of the armed separatist group "polisario" for violations of children's rights in the Tindouf camps is indivisible from that of the host country, Algeria.

"This country shelters +polisario+, finances it, arms it and has transferred to it, de facto, its military, security and jurisdictional powers. This has enabled it to continue violating the rights of children in these camps with complete impunity", underlined Hilale, adding that by failing to oppose the atrocities committed by the armed separatist group "polisario", the host country "has failed to meet its international obligations arising from the instruments to which it is a party, and which grant a right of protection to children, considered by international law as an intrinsically vulnerable category".

During the first four days (June 2-5), the Fair, placed under the High Patronage of HM King Mohammed VI, attracted 62,012 visitors, an increase of 8% over the same period of the previous edition, it added.

Organized by the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication in partnership with the Wilaya of the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra region and the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra regional Council, SIEL-2023, which runs until June 11, is bringing together 661 Moroccan and foreign writers, intellectuals and poets, whose contributions light up the skies of this renowned international fair.

The aim of these meetings is to broaden the areas of cooperation between the Higher Shari'ah Authority and the Sharia Committee for Participatory Finance of the Supreme Council of Ulema, according to a BAM statement.

In this regard, several meetings were held to discuss developments and challenges facing participatory finance, as well as to exchange experiences and ways of promoting the participatory finance industry in both countries.

A meeting was also held between the UAE Higher Shari'ah Authority and the Moroccan Capital Market Authority, as well as the Insurance and Social Security Supervisory Authority.

This visit is an opportunity to strengthen cooperation and develop joint action between the above-mentioned institutions in the field of participatory finance in Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, the statement concluded.

On Tuesday, the MASI had closed with a loss of 0.31%.

The final agreement on these laws will be debated in the coming days in the presence of the presidents of the Libyan House of Representatives and Council of State, said Jalal Shwehdi, member of the House of Representatives, at the closing session of the 6+6 commission, which was attended by Omar Abu Lifa, member of the High Council of State and Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.

Shwehdi highly praised the role played by the Kingdom of Morocco in the success of this dialogue and in reaching compromises on the aforementioned electoral laws, stressing that the commission had not been subjected to any pressure from abroad.

For his part, Abu Lifa affirmed that the members of the commission had reached a compromise on all the points of divergence relating to the electoral laws, specifying that two laws had been drawn up, the first of which concerned the election of parliament (House of Representatives and Senate), while the second text concerned the election of the Head of State.

All that remains is the official publication of the laws by the House of Representatives as stipulated by Amendment 13 of the Constitutional Declaration to begin the electoral process, he pointed out.

The outstanding points were the subject of a compromise without any foreign interference, he said, explaining that these laws do not prohibit any person from participating in the electoral process and do not provide for any exclusion, just as they offer the opportunity for political parties to play a fundamental role in the electoral process.

Both laws support women's active participation in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and broaden the country's regional representativeness, since all remote areas and villages are represented in parliament.

Abu Lifa also expressed his gratitude to Morocco for its strong support of the commission's mission, noting that the Kingdom's "successful efforts" had greatly facilitated the accomplishment of this mission.

The Kingdom of Morocco is pursuing its efforts to find a definitive solution to the Libyan crisis in order to guarantee the unity, stability and progress of Libya, by supporting its efforts to organize elections within a comprehensive, inclusive and pragmatic framework.

The Bouznika meeting is a continuation of the series of meetings hosted by the Kingdom, bringing together the various Libyan parties with a view to deepening dialogue on ways and means of resolving the crisis in the country, following an approach that provides the right space for dialogue and constructive consultation.

These meetings had led to important agreements favorable to the settlement process, led by the Skhirat Agreement (2015), the agreement between the speaker of the House of Representatives, Akila Saleh, and the president of the Libyan High State Council, Khalid El Machri in October 2022 on the implementation of the results of the Bouznika process concerning sovereign positions and the unification of executive power.

Morocco considers that the question of legitimacy in Libya can only be resolved through presidential and parliamentary elections, which will enable the Libyan people to choose to whom to entrust the power of political governance in the country.

In a speech at the closing session of the commission's two-week work, Bourita said that this stage could be decisive if it was accompanied by the implementation of compromises, with the Libyan House of Representatives and High Council of State being the only bodies empowered to rule on issues relating to the organization of elections, noting that the two Libyan bodies have fulfilled, within the framework of the 6+6 commission, the missions assigned to them by the political agreement signed in Skhirat in 2016.

Praising the spirit of responsibility shown by commission members throughout the exchanges, the Minister, who took part in the closing session alongside House of Representatives member Jalal Shwehdi and High State Council member Omar Abu Lifa, said that the presence at the dialogue of the presidents of the Libyan House of Representatives and High Council of State, Aguila Saleh and Khaled Al-Michri, had contributed positively to the progress of discussions and the identification of promising prospects for further compromise.

Dealing with the main issues linked to the preparation of the elections, these compromises placed Libya's interests and good practices in terms of holding ballots at the center of the concerns, in order to organize comprehensive elections based on precise criteria, the results of which will be accepted by all, he added.

Bourita also noted that these discussions were marked by an examination of the problems linked to the Libyan reality, which requires innovation, due to the conviction of those involved that elections are an important step in breaking the deadlock in Libya.

In addition, the Minister announced that these laws would be officially signed in the coming days, stressing that the compromises between the Libyan parties require further support to clarify certain issues and agree on certain details for the smooth implementation of these laws.

The objective of the agreement will not be achieved if it is not accompanied by a real political will to apply its provisions, he stressed, expressing his wish that these laws would be a start to the process of organizing elections, settling the question of legitimacy in Libya and setting up legitimate institutions that work in favor of Libyans and the preservation of the country's interests.

The Kingdom, on the High Instructions of HM King Mohammed VI, has once again ensured that the Libyan brothers have a platform for dialogue, far from any pressure or disruption, in order to find compromises that serve the interests of their countries, added Bourita.

Morocco has the ultimate conviction that elections are the only solution to the crisis in Libya, that the electoral process cannot succeed without the involvement of all Libyans, and that this solution can only come from the Libyans themselves, he recalled, expressing the Kingdom's willingness to host all Libyan dialogues.

The "6+6" joint commission, tasked by the Libyan House of Representatives and Council of State with preparing the electoral laws, announced at the closing ceremony that its members had reached a compromise on the laws governing the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for the end of the year.

The Kingdom of Morocco is pursuing its efforts to find a definitive solution to the Libyan crisis in order to guarantee the unity, stability and progress of Libya, by supporting its efforts to organize elections within a comprehensive, inclusive and pragmatic framework.

This Maghreb country deserves greater mobilization, accompaniment and support, because a stable Libya is an added value to the Arab world and to Maghreb integration, said Bourita, adding that the threats hanging over the region require greater efforts to make what was agreed in Bouznika today the launch of a successful electoral process.

In addition, he recalled that Morocco believes that the UN, in the person of its special envoy, Abdoulaye Bathily, plays an essential role in supporting the settlement of the Libyan crisis with a view to achieving the desired objectives.

The Bouznika meeting is a continuation of the series of meetings hosted by the Kingdom, bringing together the various Libyan parties with a view to deepening dialogue on ways and means of resolving the crisis in the country, following an approach that provides the right space for dialogue and constructive consultation.

These meetings had led to important agreements favorable to the settlement process, led by the Skhirat Agreement (2015), the agreement between the speaker of the House of Representatives, Akila Saleh, and the president of the Libyan High State Council, Khalid El Machri in October 2022 on the implementation of the results of the Bouznika process concerning sovereign positions and the unification of executive power.

Morocco considers that the question of legitimacy in Libya can only be resolved through presidential and parliamentary elections, which will enable the Libyan people to choose to whom to entrust the power of political governance in the country.
    

The Sovereign, who is following in the footsteps of His Grandfather the late His Majesty Mohammed V and His father the late His Majesty Hassan II, is working even harder to preserve Hebraic heritage in Morocco, stressed Amir Ohana in an article published on Wednesday in the daily paper "Al Ahdath Al Maghribia".

A growing number of streets are bearing the names of Moroccan scholars of the Jewish faith, and museums and cultural sites of Moroccan Judaism are being opened thanks to the personal investment of His Majesty the King, said Ohana, who added that he will begin an official visit to the Kingdom tomorrow at the invitation of his Moroccan counterpart, Rachid Talbi El Alami, speaker of the House of Representatives.

In this article, also published on the "L'Observateur du Maroc et d'Afrique" website, the speaker of the Knesset emphasized the framework of peace and prosperity in which the Moroccan Jewish community lives, stressing that His Majesty the King is the guarantor of the security, both spiritual and physical, of all Moroccan citizens regardless of their faith.

Ohana, who spoke of his Moroccan origins, recalled that Jews from the Kingdom constitute one of Israel's largest and most dynamic communities.

Over the years, Moroccan Jews have become integrated in all areas: security, the economy, science and culture, he said, adding that many Israelis of Moroccan origin have been elected to positions of responsibility: members of the Knesset, ministers and now, for the first time, to the post of speaker of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament.

The speaker of the Knesset also hailed the tripartite Morocco-US-Israel agreement, which enabled the restoration of relations with the Jewish state, calling it "the most important breakthrough in recent decades".

This tripartite agreement, he noted, would "lead to historic agreements, widen the circle of peace and bring Nations closer together", pointing out that peace offers so many opportunities and that cooperation in many fields is already in place.

"There is hardly any area in which we don't work together," according to the Knesset speaker, who stressed that the restoration of relations with Israel has opened the way for Israelis to visit Morocco, which has become a popular tourist destination.

"Those who come (to Morocco) always return with tales of the generosity of the Moroccan people, their human warmth, their love and compassion for others," noted the Knesset speaker, who expressed optimism that peace would be achieved and promoted in the Middle East region, thanks in particular to the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.