News
Wednesday 18 December 2013

Sahel: Morocco Reaffirms Commitment To UN Strategy, Ambassador

Vocal synthesis
Sahel: Morocco Reaffirms Commitment To UN Strategy, Ambassador

Morocco urged, Wednesday at UN headquarters in New York, the international community to provide full support to ensure the success of the strategy of the United Nations for the Sahel.

Speaking at a debate of the Security Council of the UN, Ambassador of Morocco to the UN, Mohamed Loulichki expressed hope that the international community will lend "full support to ensure the success of this strategy" to promote peace and stability, and strengthen democracy and the rule of law in Africa," reaffirming "the commitment of the Kingdom to contributing to this effort at all levels and at all stages".

   Loulichki spoke during a debate on "Drug trafficking in the Sahel and West Africa", initiated by France, President of the UNSC for the month of December, in the presence of the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the Executive Director of the United Nations Office Against Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yuri Fedotov.

   "It is now well established that drug trafficking feeds other illegal activities such as arms and human trafficking, illegal immigration, piracy, transnational crime, and terrorism. It is thus a factor of destabilization and insecurity for west Africa," said the ambassador.

   He said the region of the Sahel and West Africa has been transformed in recent years into a drug trafficking destination area, with the introduction of illicit amphetamine laboratories and the psychological, social, and economic impacts on local people," he said.

   The magnitude of its effects tend to exceed the area of West Africa and Sahel-Maghreb to affect other places on our continent, the ambassador warned, noting that "to meet this border challenge, several initiatives have emerged, such as the Regional Action Plan for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West Africa Coast Initiative."