Geneva – Morocco has repeatedly, and since many years now, sounded the alarm and warned the international community against threats, especially terrorist ones, in the Sahel-Sahara region, Morocco’s permanent representative to the UN office at Geneva said Monday in Geneva.
The situation in northern Mali involves a serious threat to the entire region and to the security and integrity of the countries of the Sahel-Sahara area, Omar Hilale warnd.
Hilale reiterated Morocco’s call for a decisive action and meaningful cooperation at regional and international levels in order to address the impact of this situation on peace and stability in the region.
It is essential to support Mali and help address the many challenges it faces in order to enable it to regain stability in respect for its unity and territorial integrity, the Moroccan diplomat said in an address after the presentation of the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on the situation of human rights in Northern Mali.
Morocco remains concerned about the situation in northern Mali, in particular about human rights violations, including those reported by the High Commissioner, such as summary executions, torture, cruel punishments, recruitment of child soldiers and violence against women, he said.
The Kingdom deplores, in particular, the deliberate destruction of historical, cultural and religious sites in the ancient city of Timbuktu, which undermines the cultural heritage of the people of Mali, Hilale further said.
Since the beginning of the crisis, HM King Mohammed VI gave his instructions to send humanitarian aid to Malian refugees in Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso, said the diplomat, who also stressed the need for the international community to mobilize to address the needs of affected populations, particularly the displaced.
