Address of Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami At Opening of the Proceedings of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health, and Sustainable Development and Network of Contact Parliamentarians for a Healthy Environment Under the "PACE"

Dear colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Here you convene again within the framework of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health, and Sustainable Development and the Network of Contact Parliamentarians for a Healthy Environment under the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with the aim of providing a contribution and support to just international policies in sectors and issues that are at the heart of human rights, sustainable development, justice, and the collective ambition for common prosperity.

First of all, thank you for inviting me to open the proceedings of your meetings as a guest of honor. In the meantime, I assure you that we, in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco, are delighted to welcome you once again to the city of Marrakesh, this city with an international horizon and a deep-rooted history that reflects the roots and power of the Moroccan State over the centuries, the openness that characterizes it, its African depth, and its European neighborhood. However, Marrakesh is not a mere international tourist city, but also a city that hosts international conferences in all fields under the aegis of various multilateral organizations. It is in this land that several decisive global resolutions were adopted, notably the birth of the World Trade Organization and the signing of the final documents of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994, which ushered in a new era of international trade. Marrakesh also hosted the 22^nd United States Conference of Parties on Climate Change in 2016, which gave this international mechanism a pure and distinguished African dimension. In addition, Marrakesh witnessed in December 2018 the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, in an intergovernmental conference, by about 150 States.

The issues on your agenda for these two days are central to the philosophy of these international conferences and fora and the mechanisms and resolutions they generate. This concretely reflects our country's sincere and constant commitment to human values, international cooperation, social justice, fairness in international relations, and common prosperity. This means that we, in the framework of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the global parliamentary community in general, own the consensual international references related to our work. It also means that the real problem lies in implementation, collective commitment, the sincerity of the resolutions, and the degree to which we honor our pledges.

As the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and its bodies have become accustomed to, they have once again properly selected the themes you will be examining today and tomorrow. The choice of Safeguarding democracy, rights, and the environment in the context of globalization and open international trade based on the logic of the market as the subject of your deliberations stems from your awareness of the threats facing democracy and human rights in their various forms and generations.

In this context, the preservation of democracy in its political and institutional dimensions is a universal challenge for which all forces believing in pluralism, openness, tolerance, and solidarity must be mobilized in the face of intolerance, introversion, regression, sectarianism, as well as anti-institutional, and especially anti-parliamentary tendencies that call into question the necessity and relevance of political action and engagement.

Parliaments and their political components have a special responsibility for defending democracy, particularly through: 1) making an impact on society and people's lives; 2) ensuring the credibility of institutions, the fulfillment of commitments, and realism; 3) making parliaments spaces that incubate citizens' concerns and produce consensual solutions, and that are open to society; 4) involving society through mechanisms of participatory democracy in the work of parliaments.

Alongside these phenomena that endanger democracy from within, democracies face external threats such as terrorist threats, totalitarianism, and extremism, the dangers of State weakening and collapse due to internal conflicts, the failure of the project of building a national State with universally recognized requirements, as well as the dangers of separatism and State fragmentation. Given that there can be no rights guaranteed by constitutions and democratic legislation based on international instruments without institutional democracy at all local, regional, and national levels, the challenges facing democracy are the same ones that human rights face in many times and contexts.

In the same way that democracy and human rights need laws, institutions, and mechanisms to guarantee them, they also need means and resources that give them concrete meaning so that people can perceive, exercise, and enjoy their rights. Herein lies the dialectical relationship between democracy and development and between international trade and economic globalization, the benefits of which must be shared by all societies.

While one of the stated objectives of the liberalization of international trade is the reign of prosperity in the world, this ambition remains, nonetheless, far from being achieved. Moreover, disparities in development and the enjoyment of prosperity resulting from technological development and international trade revenues have deepened within the same society, between the North and the South. Similar to the industrial revolution, which was followed by a historical development gap between the North and the South, the present digital revolution accompanying globalization is producing the same scenario, as vast categories and many peoples do not benefit from the intellectual, economic, scientific, and service advantages of the digital age.

This unequal development deepens the feeling of injustice and deprivation and does not facilitate collective access to social benefits, especially if this is added to the external debt.

On the other hand, fierce market competition causes abusive exploitation of natural resources, and uncontrolled urbanization increases the causes of climate imbalances, for which vulnerable groups and low-income countries, that are not primarily responsible for the pollution of the earth, as is the case in Africa, pay the price. Our continent suffers from the repercussions of these imbalances in terms of drought, floods, and excessive exploitation of its resources, knowing that it is only responsible -as it is often recalled- for 4% of the total emissions causing global warming.

In the footsteps of the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly in the field of human rights, which are highly regarded worldwide, the Network of Contact Parliamentarians for a Healthy Environment under our Assembly provides the necessary and appropriate diagnosis of the dangerous environmental overexploitation in the European, Euro-Mediterranean, and global arena.

Regardless of these diagnoses, what is necessary is that the parliamentary plea for environmental causes is heard by the major economic powers, big companies, and influential powers in international economic and political decisions, first, through the implementation of international pledges related to the mitigation of climate change; second, through the financing of green economy and the support of energy transition; and third, through the facilitation of the transfer of technologies from the North to the South, especially to Africa and Latin America, and the reduction of the cost of their purchase, so that the countries of the South can use the technologies of the green economy in the production of energy from renewable non-polluting sources, and to save and mobilize water.

This is likely to send a positive message to the public opinion in these countries about the credibility of global solidarity in preserving the environment as a means of safeguarding the future of humanity. In this same vein, we must all consider the cost of this transition and the high price of the equipment used in producing clean energy and providing a clean and unpolluted environment, as this is one of the new fundamental human rights. The international community and conscience are certainly challenged to allow everyone to achieve this energy transition and to grant them access to the technologies that facilitate it. Hence, global social justice and solidarity require sharing the fruits of technological developments and innovations and the international cost of climate imbalances because the humanization of globalization requires that everyone benefits from its fruits, and evolution and development at unequal speeds do not serve global stability.

Dear colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

One of the themes on your agenda is The Public health emergency: the need for a holistic approach to multilateralism and health care. You have done well in choosing this topic, following the phenomena that characterized the global management of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which national egoism flourished in the production, management, and supply of vaccines, medical equipment, and means of protection, while poor countries were left alone in the fight against the pandemic with their limited means and equipment.

If the Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated health crises, burdened public budgets, and slowed down economic dynamics in the world, its consequences have been serious for health services and public spending in Southern countries. Today, the lessons of Covid-19 challenge us to facilitate access to medicines, health care, and treatment for all. Indeed, this obliges us, as a parliamentary community, to seriously advocate and use all our parliamentary powers to pressure for the lifting of restrictions that hinder access to treatment and medicines for all, including the facilitation of the transfer of medical technologies and the reduction of the abusive and unjustified use of patents in the medicines and medical equipment sector, which has become a source of massive enrichment for a limited number of multinational companies. Once again, the "global conscience" and "international solidarity" are put to a moral and political test in the face of the suffering of several countries in the South, especially in Africa.

You have also done well in choosing the theme of the right to adequate housing as another focus of your meetings. This is an issue that involves family and social stability, the development of individuals, and social cohesion. With the acceleration of urbanization and urban planning, and the resulting problems in cities that weigh on services, the environment, and consumption, it is increasingly necessary not only to ensure housing at the right price, but housing that respects the requirements that come with it in terms of urban transport, green spaces, entertainment spaces and social services such as education, health, sports, and culture. Of course, a clean and organized housing environment can contribute to producing generations that are open and proud to belong to their environment and homeland.

In this regard, the question of capacity, funding resources, and pressure on public expenditure is also raised, including the cost of producing housing and building cities that enclose the necessary facilities.

As parliamentarians, when we advocate for these rights, we perceive inclusion and the fight against exclusion, poverty, and vulnerability, where the environment is fertile for frustration, extremism, and the production of fanatical nihilist thinking; and when we cling to international solidarity, it is because it remains the requirement for balance in international relations and exchanges and a moral and political duty that has proven its effectiveness. For instance, post-World War II Europe recovered mainly thanks to internal and cross-border peace and the Marshall Plan for reconstruction.

Dear colleagues,

The Kingdom of Morocco, which has the honor of hosting you today, has made great efforts to safeguard and enforce these rights, at the forefront of which are fundamental human rights. While we do not claim the glory of leadership in our near and far surroundings, we are nevertheless proud that what we have accomplished and what we are accomplishing has been done under the patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God glorify him, who is committed to ensuring the political, economic, and social empowerment of all citizens.

In this respect, political and cultural pluralism and freedom of opinion and expression are part of our social fabric and characteristics of our essence. In the same regard, social protection and medical coverage, being social projects, have allowed, in a short time, 23 million citizens to benefit from medical coverage, in addition to the millions of Moroccans who enjoy this right. As for the right to adequate housing, it has been the object of multiple public policies for over three decades, allowing hundreds of thousands of families to obtain appropriate housing subsidized by the State.

As for our country's efforts to reduce the factors causing climate imbalances, the international community is witness to the efficiency of the policies implemented by the Kingdom for a green economy, the production of energy from non-polluting sources, and the mobilization of water. These programs cover the entire national territory from Tangier to Dakhla and extend to more than 15 African countries.

In your work, Moroccan ministers and officials will shed light on many public policies and programs affirming our country's commitment to human rights, health, and housing for all and its involvement in international efforts to reduce the causes of climate imbalances.

Dear colleagues,

I take this opportunity to welcome you and reiterate the pride of the House of Representatives in the exemplary, sincere, serious, responsible, and fruitful partnership that exists between the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, to preserve democracy and support the partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Council of Europe, and the Kingdom of Morocco and the members of the Council at the bilateral level. Indeed, the status of a partner for democracy enjoyed by the Moroccan Parliament within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since 2011, the fact that Morocco is the first partner for democracy of the Council of Europe in local democracy and the 2022-2025 Roadmap, which is the strategic framework for cooperation between the Council of Europe and the Kingdom of Morocco, are a token of mutual trust and the depth of ties between the Kingdom and the Council, based on mutual interests, and above all, on mutual respect and the values we share.

On this occasion, I want to renew the commitment of the House of Representatives to this positive dynamic and the importance of its continuity based on trust, loyalty, and partnership. I also want to commend the efforts of the political authorities of the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to strengthen our partnerships, including, of course, the Office of the Council of Europe in Morocco and those responsible for the technical cooperation programs between the Moroccan Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

I thank you once again and wish you success in your proceedings.