Brussels: Moroccan Parliamentary Delegation Takes Part in Meeting of the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie on January 26-27, 2024

A delegation of the Moroccan Parliament took part in the meeting of the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie, hosted by the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation on January 26-27, 2024, in Brussels, Belgium.

The delegation included the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Hassan Benomar, who represented Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami, the Speaker of the House and member of the Assembly’s Bureau, as well as Cllr. Mohammed Reda Lahmini, member of the House of Councilors and Deputy Chairperson of the Assembly's Economic, Social, and Environmental Affairs Committee.

The meeting featured an intervention by Ms. Caroline St-Hilaire, a member of the Administration of the International Organization of La Francophonie. In her intervention, Ms. Caroline St-Hilaire stressed the organization's pivotal role in promoting its major causes, such as gender equality, defending democracy and human rights, and promoting the position of francophone youth. Besides, the General Delegate of the Assembly, Mr. Bruno Fuchs, presented a report on the Assembly's activities in 2023 while stressing the importance of mediation and parliamentary diplomacy in resolving conflicts and crises in the francophone region.

During the same meeting, the Bureau members discussed several essential questions, including the adoption of its order of business, the appointment of its new members, and the examination of the legal arsenal related to climate change and the one linked to the political conditions in French-speaking countries.

The meeting also featured the adoption of the Statute of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie, the revision of its mechanisms related to democratic follow-up, and the presentation of the cooperation and partnership program, the standing committee's proceedings, and the reports of the heads of missions at the regional level, including the 2024 budget report.

As part of the general debate, the participants witnessed a detailed presentation on: "Hostile interventions that threaten democracies in the francophone area." In this regard, the presentation shed light on the manifestations of these interventions that can take different shapes like sophisticated disinformation, manipulation of media and social networks, and the harmful exploitation of artificial intelligence that poses a serious threat to social peace, political stability, and the core values of democracies in French-speaking countries.

Besides, the participants underscored the imperative of joining efforts, exchanging the best practices, coordinating positions, and acting vigorously in order to understand the mutant nature of these threats, work on investing in the abilities of government institutions, encourage the exchange of information between countries, and develop innovative tools to uncover and address these interventions.

It should be noted that the Moroccan Parliament enjoys membership in the Bureau of the Assembly, interim Chairmanship of the Economic, Social, and Environmental Affairs Committee, and membership in the Bureau of the Women Parliamentarians Network.