Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita
Speaking at a High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development convened by the UN Economic and Social Council, Nasser Bourita the Foreign Minister of Morocco stressed the importance of continuing the implementation of the Marrakesh Compact.
The Marrakesh Compact represents an open informal group of states committed to the compact, respecting its vision and guiding principles for the achievement of sustainable development goals.
Supported by the United Nations Migration Network, the countries work together to achieve the objectives of the Global Compact through leadership, exchange and collaboration, guided by the realities and priorities of each country.
“We have the opportunity at this High Level Political Forum to discuss the objectives of the Compact that we must accelerate to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring an inclusive and resilient recovery after the pandemic, while leaving no one behind,” said Bourita.
Bourita stressed the positive contributions of migrants and migration to advance inclusive growth and sustainable development. The Compact aims to promote cooperation to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration . It is based on international law, and calls for full respect for human rights and the humane treatment of migrants regardless of their migration status.
281 million people internationally are estimated to be migrants. As of January 2020, an estimated 23 million people of the 447 million living in the EU are third-country nationals, representing 5% of the European population. In total, nine million third-country nationals are employed in the EU labour market in critical sectors and occupations.
Promoting regional stability in Africa and building the momentum for regional integration are key policies that the EU needs to take on board. Establishing strong partnerships between countries of origin and transit that lack migration governance is a key policy objective.
The European Commission recognises that demographics in Europe show that the EU needs to change the narrative of migration to a positive one. Under the new EU pact on migration and asylum the EU advocates talent partnerships with the countries of origin, transit and destination, but acknowledges that there are blockages preventing its effective implementation.
Morocco is a key member of the Marrakesh Champion Countries, and speaking at the United Nations Forum, Minister Bourita said that whilst significant progress has been made to date, more efforts were needed to step up both the implementation of the Global Compact on Migration and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. He stressed that the Marrakesh Compact on Migration represents a major contribution to multilateralism to meet the challenges and exploit the opportunities of international migration and human mobility, through a global and cooperative approach.
“The positive effects of migration must be harnessed to advance progress towards the strategic development goals, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shows both the important contribution of migrants to our societies and acute situations of vulnerability that many of them face,” he concluded.
