The UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations granted the Moroccan Association for Development Studies and Research (AERED) the Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
This UN Committee, convened in June 2020 in New York, examined 637 applications, presented by associations representing all regions of the world and retained 66, including the AERED, chaired by Driss Guerraoui.
According to a press release from the Moroccan association, this result crowns more than 40 years of work in the service of training, studies and research in the fields of development economics, social protection, youth employment, rural development, and economic intelligence, notably through its international network of experts from the Open University of Dakhla, as well as that of the Forum of African Economic Intelligence Associations.
It also rewards a common base of values shared with many NGOs in Morocco and around the world, which are social solidarity, sharing, civic engagement, defense of dignity and individual and collective freedoms and respect for human rights, mainly the right to development, noted the same source.
Finally, it crowns a relentless work of academic diplomacy, within the framework of an innovative collaborative international partnership thanks to Morocco's influence and advocacy for the promotion of the principles of peace, solidarity, global security, sustainable human development for all, and tolerance and dialogue between all civilizations, cultures and religions, the statement concluded.