Address of the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Opening of the Second Legislative Session of the 2021-2022 Legislative Year

Esteemed Ministers,

Honorable Representatives,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Following the provisions of Article 65 of the Constitution, we inaugurate today the proceedings of the second legislative session of the first legislative year of the Eleventh Legislative Term, at the level of plenary sittings, as the House of Representatives pursued, during the inter-sessional period, its intensive work at the level of Standing Committees, the thematic working groups, and parliamentary diplomacy.

I want, first, on occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, to extend the sincerest and heartfelt wishes to the Commander of the Faithful, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist him, imploring the Almighty to grant him perpetual health and to comfort his eye with His Highness Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, and to fortify his strength with his brother, His Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, and all the members of the noble Alaouite family.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We initiate this session amidst a national context marked by the accumulation by our country of further recognition and esteem, and the consolidation of its position as a regional and continental stability pole, and a trustworthy partner, keen to fulfill its engagements with the international community, its partners and friends, and its entourage.

Indeed, our country would not have made such achievements without the wise leadership and proactive vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, and his judicious steering of the foreign policy of the Kingdom and keenness to promote reforms, protect rights, and guarantee freedoms at the domestic level.

The clarity of the positions of the Kingdom of Morocco and the firmness by which His Majesty the King manages the cause of our territorial integrity, on the basis of the historical, international, institutional, and democratic legitimacy, the engagement of the inhabitants of the Moroccan Southern provinces in constructing institutions, and the strategic and structural development projects have yielded a clear international tendency that is continuously consolidated, and taking shape in further recognition of the irreversible rights of our country to sovereignty over its southern provinces, and in considering that autonomy in said provinces under the Moroccan sovereignty, proposed by the Kingdom of Morocco in 2007, is and will remain the sincerest, most serious, and applicable proposal as a basis to solve the artificial conflict over our southern provinces; a conflict that our country had settled decades ago in accordance with the international legitimacy. This settlement has borne fruit today to pioneering development in our retrieved territories and manifests itself through the intensive participation of our brothers in these provinces in managing national affairs through choosing their representatives at the national and territorial levels.

The latest of these positions was the clear declaration of our neighbor, Spain, in support of the autonomy proposal, which we laud and commend, and which adds up to the fair positions taken by friendly powers that influence international decision-making bodies.

Amidst this dynamic, we reiterate our thanks to national parliaments, and their main components who favor prudence, wisdom and legitimacy. In the meantime, we demand from the friends who are reluctant or neutral, and the foes who purposefully cause confusion and ambiguity, to summon reason, historical facts, and international legitimacy, and think towards the future while recalling our historical rights, taking into consideration that His Majesty stated, “Morocco is not negotiating over its Sahara and the Moroccanness of the Sahara never was - and never will be - on the negotiating table.”

Ladies and gentlemen,

The persistence and gains achieved by our country, thanks to the valuable and wise Royal leadership, did not stop our country from continuing to accumulate reforms and successes at the domestic level. Far from that, it is these internal factors and successes that are arguably reinforcing the sincerity of our country's foreign policy and the regional, continental, and international esteem it enjoys.

Thus, our country was distinguished by the clever management of Covid-19 and its economic and social repercussions, and was able to recover with the least possible losses from the pandemic, whether in terms of the management of the lockdown period and the financial and economic measures that accompanied it, the provision of free vaccines, or the public policies, programs, and measures taken to facilitate economic recovery in the post-pandemic period. Such actions have been the subject of international recognition of which we are proud.

Once again, we must pay our respects to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God glorify him, who led and keeps leading the country at such a delicate stage with great prudence, foresight, and anticipation in taking measures.

In the same context, and within the same framework of solidarity, our country continues to implement policies that establish the bases of the social State, in a way that guarantees the dignity of all citizens and their access to basic social services within an institutional, institutionalized, and sustainable framework embodied in the social public service.

At the same time and with a view to facilitating it, the social dialogue between producers, under the auspices of the State, in the interest of the rights of all, is taking a new turn, while the indicators of confidence in public performance and institutions are improving, amidst a challenging international context.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As I noted earlier, the House bodies continued to function during the inter-sessional period. At the level of the Board of the House, we worked to give effect to the provisions of the Constitution and the Organic Law concerning the formalization of Amazigh, and the modalities of its integration in the field of education and in priority areas of public life,  as well as in the proceedings of the House of Representative.

In fulfillment of a commitment made during the previous session, I am pleased to officially announce that, starting from the sitting of Monday, April 11, 2022, interpretation in Arabic and Amazigh shall be adopted at the weekly oral questions sittings and the monthly sittings for oral questions on general policy to the Head of the Government.

We will undoubtedly be at an important national moment that must be appreciated and built upon to pursue the implementation of the relevant provisions of the Constitution and the Organic Law, in all that this symbolizes in our national life.

Honorable colleagues,

As I mentioned, the House of Representatives continued to work intensively at the level of the Standing Committees and thematic groups in charge of evaluating public policies.

Questions of agriculture, the water situation in our country in the light of the scarce rainfall, measures to support national small and medium enterprises, support for the tourism sector affected by measures taken to prevent COVID-19, the promotion of culture, policies aimed at youth, employment, and social welfare institutions were among the themes examined as part of the House’s control and scrutiny prerogative. The choice of these themes took into consideration the suggestions of the parliamentary Majority and Opposition. This intersection reflects the fact that as political components and trends in the House, we are driven by the same concerns despite our difference in approaches and methodologies, which promotes a culture of consensus on the major issues of the country in special contexts. In this regard, the richness of these requests, the Government's willingness to discuss them, and the interaction between the legislative and executive branches reflect a greater tendency on the part of the House of Representatives to exercise its control and evaluation functions, which were pursued intensively during the inter-sessional period.

In this vein, the control dynamic continued through questions addressed to the Government. As such, the inter-sessional period featured the submission of more than 1,500 questions to the Government, including more than 500 oral questions and more than 1,000 written questions while the House members received answers to about 1,000 written questions. On the other hand, and in order to strengthen the House's control competence, we started to give effect to the provisions of the Rules of Procedure relating to Government pledges before the House, so that this mechanism may include meetings of the Standing Committees, as well as plenary sittings.

As concerns the evaluation prerogative, we have structured the Thematic Working Group in charge of evaluating the Green Morocco Plan and the Thematic Working Group in charge of evaluating the water policy of the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the Thematic Working Group in charge of evaluating the 2018-2021 National Administration Reform Plan pursued its work by holding a series of meetings and hearings with a number of constitutional institutions, governance bodies, the executive branch, civil society bodies working on the subject, and social partners, both at the central and territorial levels.

Allow me, honorable colleagues, to reiterate the importance of public policy evaluation in the House’s action program, given its importance in public action, public expenditure, the improvement of the quality of public policies, and the identification their impact on society. As His Majesty emphasized, "There must be greater coordination, harmony, and synergy between public policies and their implementation projects." Of course, the exercise of our evaluation prerogative falls within the context of compliance with this royal directive.

In the Board of the House, we are keen, together with the Chairpersons of the Parliamentary Groups and Caucus, and the members of the thematic groups to exercise this prerogative by adopting a balance between the Majority and the Opposition and being open to social actors, to academia and to comparative practices through colloquia in the framework of partnership and international cooperation programs, in particular with the European Union and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, with which the House organized a colloquium on the subject with the participation of expert parliamentarians from Morocco and European countries.

The methodological objective remains to complete evaluations with high international standards, taking into account, of course, our institutional context.

On another note, and in order for the evaluations carried out to be meaningful, we will have to work together with the Government and public institutions on the recommendations we have implemented together since the House started exercising this prerogative in 2015.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the field of legislation, the Standing Committees passed three government bills and embarked on the examination of three others, including the Government Organic Bill related to the conditions and procedures for disputing the constitutionality of a law, after considering the legal effects of the Constitutional Court's decision. In total, the Government referred five bills to the House, which the latter will vote on at the onset of this legislative session.

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Groups and Caucus referred four parliamentary bills, bringing the number of parliamentary bills submitted by the political components of the House to 72 bills, 60 of which are under examination by the Committees. In this regard, while I reiterate the significance of the legislative initiative led by the members of the House, which enriches the national legislative arsenal and ensures the rights of Representatives, Majority and Opposition alike, we should also take into consideration the quality of the legislation in order to comply with the directives of His Majesty the King to the two Houses of Parliament, when he stressed that "parliamentarians are responsible for the quality of the laws passed to implement projects and decisions on the ground, making sure they are attuned to the pulse of society, fulfil the citizens’ aspirations and address their concerns." (End of the citation of His Majesty)

In the interest of legislative efficiency, we should focus largely on controlling the application of laws, while ensuring that regulatory decrees are issued, if they are provided for in the laws passed by the House.

By way of contribution to the national efforts to safeguard human rights and strengthen mechanisms to respect them, and in recognition of our country's outstanding efforts in this area, the House of Representatives contributed efficiently to the National Report submitted on the occasion of the fourth cycle of the UPR Mechanism for the period 2017-2021 and to the Second National Report on the implementation of the International Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and Members of their Families for the period 2013-2021.

In the same vein, and for the sake of promoting the culture and values of international humanitarian law, the House of Representatives, in partnership with the National Commission for International Humanitarian Law, organized a colloquium on the role of the Parliament in adapting national laws to the international humanitarian law, pursuant to the provisions provided for in the Constitution and in accordance to our international commitments. In addition, the House also took part in a multilateral symposium hosted by the same Commission on the same theme.

As for external relations and parliamentary diplomacy, the House of Representatives carried on its valuable contributions and active presence at multilateral conferences and fora organized by parliamentary organizations at the regional, continental, and international levels.

The House also participated in conferences on current vital issues such as international peace and security, counter-terrorism, management of post-COVID 19 era and its repercussions on the global economy, combating climate change, water management, cross-border migration, science and technology, women's rights, and the protection of children.

To the extent that our parliamentary delegations tirelessly defend our vital national causes, most importantly the cause of our territorial integrity, we are more keen and determined to ensure that our contributions and participations are effective, proactive, and inclusive, aiming at defending international justice, peace, security, and fair and balanced international relations based on a partnership that serves common prosperity, shared global progress, democracy, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the State, which represent the essential bases and levers for peace and stability.

In recognition of the status of our country and its foreign policy under the leadership of His Majesty the King, the Moroccan Parliament, according to observers, enjoys special recognition in all the multilateral parliamentary organizations at the international level, namely in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Arab and Islamic worlds, the Euro-Mediterranean region, and Asia.

In light of this positive presence, we have officially, two days ago, assumed the Presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean. This occasion was an opportunity to hold talks with a number of European officials, in particular the President of the European Parliament and the heads of its political groups, with which we have long-established and institutionalized relations and regular dialogue, which is maintained by the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee. The latter plays a major role in defending the interests of our country within the European Parliament.

On the other hand, we continue to diversify our partnerships within the framework of international cooperation programs. In this respect, the House hosted a number of seminars and symposia that facilitated the exchange of experiences between the House and a number of foreign institutions. In this regard, new multi-year cooperation programs will soon be launched with partners from Europe and America.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Heavy agendas await us in the various areas that fall within the scope of the House's prerogatives and functions. Thus, we need a collective mobilization to perform our constitutional and institutional duties with the required quality and efficiency that will ensure better outcomes, improve our performance, and ameliorate the image of our institution. In this respect, the House should listen and respond to the aspirations of citizens, especially in an international context which nature and sensitivity we, together, recognize, as we should meet the challenges in line with the directives of His Majesty the King, may God glorify him, so that our country pursues steadily the path of development and reforms and consolidates its status as an emerging power and a trustworthy and reliable partner.

As for our foreign policy, we should always recall the magnitude of our responsibilities, the proactivity and vigilance that they require, and be equipped with knowledge, data, facts, honesty, and trust that have always characterized our diplomacy against the fraudulent schemes set by our territorial integrity foes, especially when they try to delude our partners in any given context or exploit few occasions to mislead them about certain issues.

This is the record of the proceedings of the House during the inter-sessional period. A record that we should capitalize on to ensure the performance of our tasks in a framework of cooperation, complementarity, respect for difference, and compliance with the Constitution.

Thank you for listening.