“The Kingdom of Morocco, under the enlightened leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, is firmly committed to protecting human rights, as a continued national strategic choice, which has been showcased by conventional practice, guaranteed by the Constitution and enshrined in national legislation and public policies,” said Ouahbi at the opening of the 10th Glion Human Rights Dialogue.

He underlined that this choice is also reflected in the role of constitutional institutions tasked with protecting human rights, mainly the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), created over three decades ago, and other institutions such as the Inter-Ministerial Delegation for Human Rights.

In line with this commitment, the Kingdom is always present at various international events that aim to promote international human rights and to encourage commitment for this purpose, the Minister noted, adding that the Kingdom also hosts various international dialogues on relevant, specific or emerging human rights issues, the Minister added.

Ouahbi also highlighted Morocco’s resolute commitment to human rights issues and the development of their normative and institutional framework, hence the trust placed in the Kingdom, eloquently illustrated by its presidency of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).

The Minister also expressed his hope that this high-level event would contribute to strengthening dialogue on human rights issues as one of the priorities of the UN, whose institutional mechanisms and working methods require a thorough overhaul in order to promote the preservation of human dignity, the establishment of peace, the consolidation of international solidarity and cooperation, and the adoption of a dialogue-based approach to resolving disputes and thereby meeting the various challenges, particularly in the current international context.

Ouahbi also called for protecting human rights and placing them at the top of the international agenda, while ensuring the widespread dissemination of the universal values of tolerance, peace and dialogue, and for promoting cooperation to reduce economic disparities between countries, and to support democratic processes as the surest approach to uproot the causes of disputes and conflicts, and avoid their negative effects.

Stressing that respecting commitments is a national issue that involves all stakeholders (government, legislative and judicial powers, civil society and media), Ouhabi stated that creating new joint working frameworks between all parties involved was the right choice to federate visions, pool efforts and ensure the convergence of actions, through national human rights mechanisms that have fostered the establishment of a framework for international cooperation.