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Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita welcomed, Wednesday, the election of the Kingdom as head of the United Nations Human rights Council for the year 2024. The Moroccan candidacy received «the support of the majority» of the UN body’s members, celebrated the Minister during a press briefing held on the same and attended by the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel.
«This election is proving the role of Morocco and its foreign policy, based on clarity and ambition, which makes its presence in international organizations desirable and necessary», explained the country's top diplomat.
Nasser Bourita denounced, on the other hand, the campaign orchestrated by «Algeria and South Africa», particularly «within the African Union» to block the Moroccan bid. «Algiers and Pretoria led media campaigns through mercenary pawns, while Morocco provided important explanations on the mechanisms of its candidacy», argued the Moroccan Foreign minister.
Algeria and the Polisario angered by the vote
In the absence of an official reaction, several Algerian media have condemned the election of Morocco as president of the UN Human Rights Council for the year 2024. «It is a victory of Evil over Good», obtained «through corruption and blackmail and the buying of votes in its favor», claimed La Patrie News. «Unfortunately, Morocco won the presidency of the Council with 30 votes to 17 votes for South Africa. Further proof that blackmail and bribery are indeed corrupting certain UN institutions», concluded the same outlet.
For its part, the daily Echouroukonline attributed Morocco's victory to «its Zionist alliance». The Kingdom «achieved its objective thanks to the support it received for decades from countries that provided it with protection to evade its obligations to submit to international law in the case of the occupation of Western Sahara».
The Polisario also reacted to Morocco's victory. Its representative in Geneva, Oubi Bachir Bouchraya, believes that the election of Rabat obeyed «geopolitical and not legal» considerations and that «strong pressure exerted by certain influential forces to block the path of Pretoria for the presidency of the Council». In recent weeks, the Front has led a campaign against the Moroccan candidacy.
In South Africa, media recognized their country's defeat. «Morocco is dashing South Africa's hopes for the presidency of the UN Human Rights Council», wrote City Press. «In a vote on Wednesday in Geneva, the Moroccan ambassador, Omar Zniber, was elected president of the council after receiving 30 votes. His South African opponent, Mxolisi Nkosi, only obtained 17 votes», reports Africa News. «Morocco is considered by several African countries as an occupying power in Western Sahara. Rabat's candidacy also encountered opposition from its neighbor Algeria», the same source argued.
Nasser Bourita revealed yesterday that «at least 10 African countries» voted for the Kingdom. As a reminder, the African group has 13 seats on the UN HRC, including those from South Africa and Algeria.
