Morocco's successful applications to various international and regional organizations active in the fields of human rights and humanitarian action clearly enshrine the irreversible choices of the Kingdom, which has set the promotion of human rights and humanitarian solidarity as priorities of its national and international policy.
Morocco will sit for the first time on the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in the person of Professor Mohamed Amarti, who was selected by members of the UN Economic and Social Council to represent Africa among the 18 experts comprising the Committee.
It is a clear sign of Morocco's strategy to strengthen the new generation of rights, namely economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, notably through the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), launched by the Sovereign in 2005.
In the same vein, Professor Mahjoub El Haiba was elected Expert to the Human Rights Committee following a vote that took place on September 17, 2020, in New York, on the occasion of the 38th Meeting of States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The success of this candidacy illustrates the confidence and credit enjoyed by the far-sighted policy promoted by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in terms of democratic reforms, the building of the rule of law, and the protection of human rights as universally recognized.
For her part, Nadia Bernoussi joined the Human Rights Advisory Committee, a subsidiary body of the UN Human Rights Council, on October 7, 2020, in Geneva for a three-year term. This election is part of the Kingdom's strategy to strengthen the presence of Moroccan expertise in UN human rights bodies.
Similarly, Morocco was re-elected in the person of Abdallah Ounnir as member of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), at an election held on October 22, 2020, in Geneva.
This is a further sign of appreciation for the Kingdom's highly commendable efforts in the fight against torture, as reflected in the establishment of a legal and institutional framework, the commitment to a range of reforms to strengthen the prevention of ill-treatment and the protection of persons deprived of their liberty, as well as the establishment of a National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture (NPMT).
Soumia Amrani was elected member of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities following an election held on November 30, 2020, in New York. This umpteenth election of the Kingdom to human rights bodies is an eloquent recognition of Morocco's actions and initiatives for the protection of human rights in general and disabled persons in particular.
A new mark of confidence in Morocco's known and recognized expertise and skills in the field of humanitarian interventions and their management emerged on June 19, 2020, through the appointment by the UN Secretary-General of Najat Rochdi as Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, at the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon and Resident Coordinator.
Rochdi already held the position of Senior Advisor to the Special Envoy for Syria and Director of "Peer to Peer" at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva.
Morocco was for the first time represented at the Consultative Group of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), following the appointment of Ambassador Mohamed Methqal, Director of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation, as a member of this body on October 30, 2020.
This body made up of 18 experts is tasked with providing the Secretary-General with advice and strategic guidance on the use and impact of the Central Emergency Response Fund.
It is a tribute to the sincere and unfailing commitment of Morocco in favor of humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable populations.
In the same spirit, Morocco's Permanent Representative in New York, Ambassador Omar Hilale, was appointed by the President of the UN General Assembly as facilitator of the process of strengthening the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies.
This choice was guided by the confidence placed in the democratic process initiated by the Kingdom, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, as well as by the professional and personal qualifications of Ambassador Hilale and his long multilateral experience in the field of Human Rights.
Morocco was re-elected, in the person of Abderrazak Rouwane, as member of the Permanent Independent Commission on Human Rights (CPIDH) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on November 28, 2020, at the end of the 47th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC held in Niamey.
In an undeniable recognition of Morocco's leading role in the promotion of women's rights and gender equality, the Kingdom was elected by acclamation, on December 10, 2020, to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for a four-year term (2021-2025).