United Nations (New York) – United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming praised His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s vision for future generations during the 42nd session of the United Nations Committee on Information, held Wednesday in New York under the chairmanship of Ambassador Omar Hilale, Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
In her opening remarks before the members of the Committee, Ms. Fleming quoted an extended passage from the speech delivered by His Majesty the King at the 2010 United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals in New York.
In that speech, His Majesty the King stressed the need to engage in forward-looking reflection and proactive action in order to ensure the continuity of development initiatives and prepare for emerging challenges.
The King also emphasized the importance of collective action to consolidate a human-centered and sustainable development model based on solidarity and coherence, within the framework of fair and effective global governance, with the aim of ensuring a dignified life for future generations and building a shared future marked by security, stability, progress and prosperity.
Commenting on the content of the royal speech, the UN official said that the relevance of His Majesty the King’s forward-looking vision had become even more evident in the context of the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, which profoundly changed the world and exposed existing imbalances, including social and economic inequalities, fear and misinformation.
Melissa Fleming also highlighted the main activities of the United Nations Department of Global Communications and the changes required to adapt to the new reality created by the pandemic.
In this regard, she referred to “Verified”, a major initiative launched by the United Nations under the leadership of Secretary-General António Guterres to combat misinformation related to the Covid-19 pandemic by expanding the reach of reliable and accurate information about the disease.
For his part, the Committee’s Chair, Ambassador Omar Hilale, stressed the importance of combating misinformation and its harmful consequences, while praising the efforts of the United Nations Secretary-General and the Department of Global Communications during the pandemic.
Ambassador Hilale also welcomed the launch in Morocco by the United Nations Development Programme of the “Akeed 2030 – Covid-19” initiative, which aims to highlight successful experiences, good practices and lessons learned, with a view to sharing them more widely and encouraging similar initiatives in Morocco and elsewhere.
He noted that this approach is consistent with the Kingdom’s commitment to strengthening South-South cooperation and enabling other countries to benefit from Morocco’s experience in addressing the pandemic.
The Committee on Information, a subsidiary body of the United Nations Fourth Committee, adopts an annual resolution guiding the work of the Department of Global Communications. Given the exceptional circumstances of that year, the Moroccan chairmanship of the Committee worked to ensure that its 42nd session could take place and that the Department had the resources needed to carry out its mission under the best possible conditions.
His Majesty King Mohammed VI stated that Morocco is entering a new phase focused on strengthening national sovereignty, supporting economic recovery, and implementing the New Development Model. He also called on the government and Parliament to fully assume their responsibilities.
The Council of the League of Arab States praised the efforts of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, to protect Al-Quds Al-Sharif and support the resilience of the Palestinian people. It also highlighted the fieldwork of the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency in preserving the city’s Arab and Islamic identity.
26th Throne Day Program: July 29 (Evening): Royal Speech. July 30 (Afternoon): Official Reception in M'diq. July 31: Officers' Oath-Taking and Ceremony of Allegiance in Tétouan.
