Morocco, as a member of the AU Institutional Reform Advisory Committee, has supported the African Union (AU) institutional reform process since its inception, because it is necessary in its substance and pragmatic in its approach, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Mr. Nasser Bourita, on Saturday, February,6, 2021.
Speaking at the 34th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly (AU) which is held by videoconference, Mr. Bourita said that in line with the Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, “our institutional family must move forwards towards greater efficiency and rationalization of the pan-African organization, in order to be in line with the expectations of the African populations”.
It is in this spirit that the Kingdom has entered into the process of institutional reform of the AU, noting in this regard that “the Interim Report on the institutional reform of the AU, presented by the President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, is an example of structuring determination and far-sighted leadership, on a project that is very strategic for our Union”.
For the Kingdom of Morocco, 2021 is as decisive as 2002, which saw our organization undergo its first institutional transformation. Except that we are doing it today with the hindsight of experience, with the confidence of our achievements, but also the lessons of our shortcomings, noted Mr. Bourita.
Morocco is pleased that, thanks to the leadership of President Kagame and the commitment of the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, this process is taking place through an exemplary approach of dialogue, construction and co-appropriation, in which we are mobilizing to modernize the AU and equip it for the future, the minister pointed out. But as much as the Kingdom welcomes the progress made in the establishment of the bodies and structures decided by this process, it also emphasizes the importance of completing this process promptly, in a spirit of consensus and co-ownership, recalled Mr. Bourita, noting that “the credibility of our organization is determined in the light of its consistency and effectiveness”.
This is why the Kingdom remains convinced that the reform will have a taste of incomplete as long as one of the main bodies of the AU, in this case, the Peace and Security Council, has not been the subject of a lucid consideration and profound reform, as recommended by President Kagame’s Report, said Mr. Bourita, calling for this issue to be tackled without delay, “if we want to give ourselves the tools to strengthen the peace and stability of our continent “.
In his speech to the 29th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), HM King Mohammed VI underlined that “the implementation of such a reform is no longer a luxury; rather, it is an imperative need, considering the enormous stakes involved and the immense challenges to which our continent must rise,” Mr. Bourita recalled, noting that while” structural reform is necessary, it must go hand in hand with a profound change in institutional culture”.
The modernization of working methods, the culture of results, the spirit of responsibility, the permanent concern for quality, but also that of ethics, transparency and good governance, are just as decisive as the rationalization of organs and bodies, he pointed out.
To this end, the institutional reform unit must be reinforced by sufficient and adequate human and logistical resources, to succeed in its mission, within the framework of a monitoring and accountability policy, underlined Mr. Bourita, noting that the Member States of the African Union cannot be satisfied with a successful reform without a real financial autonomy of the Organization meeting the prerequisites of transparency, inclusiveness, equality, and equity.
“The Kingdom of Morocco will remain committed, as it always has been, to advancing this process in which it deeply believes, as a strategic lever for the Africa we want”, Mr. Bourita concluded.
