“Morocco prioritizes humanitarian action as the cornerstone of its foreign policy and African cooperation, in line with the enlightened vision of King Mohammed VI.” This was the message delivered on Tuesday, May 2, 2026, by Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Mohamed Arrouchi, during a session of the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC).

The Kingdom, guided by the vision of King Mohammed VI and serving as the AU’s Champion on migration, has positioned humanitarian action at the heart of its foreign policy and African cooperation. It continues to spare no effort in addressing humanitarian crises wherever they arise across the continent, Arrouchi emphasized during a public PSC session on refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and humanitarian aid in Africa.

The diplomat highlighted that Morocco’s humanitarian efforts extend beyond emergency aid or mobile hospital deployments. They are part of a broader, sustainable strategy aimed at alleviating the suffering of affected populations. This approach is rooted in co-development, expertise sharing, and the exchange of best practices.

This strategy also encompasses combating the impacts of climate change and desertification, whose humanitarian consequences are already manifesting in an increasing number of climate refugees across the continent, he explained. The approach further includes a clear commitment to responsible governance of humanitarian action, ensuring that aid reaches those in need without diversion or exploitation for harmful purposes.

Arrouchi underscored the importance of integrating humanitarian responses in Africa within a multidimensional framework that combines humanitarian action, conflict prevention, mediation, peacebuilding, and development. This holistic approach is essential to addressing the root causes of forced displacement sustainably.

He also stressed the need to strengthen the resilience of communities affected by conflicts, natural disasters, and climate shocks, reducing their vulnerability to future crises.

The diplomat emphasized the necessity of enhancing Africa’s capacity to anticipate, prevent, and respond to future humanitarian crises, particularly those linked to climate change. This includes developing early warning systems, preparedness mechanisms, and resilience strategies tailored to the continent’s realities.

He called for reinforcing transparency, accountability, oversight, and evaluation mechanisms in African humanitarian action to ensure that aid reaches intended recipients and to prevent any misuse or exploitation of resources.

Arrouchi also highlighted the need to strengthen systems for registering, tracking, and managing data on refugees and internally displaced persons. Reliable, verified, and regularly updated data is crucial for improving the effectiveness of humanitarian responses and ensuring appropriate resource allocation.

The diplomat noted that Africa is currently facing a particularly alarming humanitarian situation, marked by unprecedented waves of people fleeing conflicts and climate-induced disasters. Economic slowdowns, rising food insecurity, and malnutrition in several regions have compounded the crisis, creating exceptional humanitarian needs to which collective responses have often fallen short due to national, regional, and continental constraints.

He stressed that in the face of this humanitarian crisis, the priority must be to focus on operational and pragmatic solutions, adopt a rational approach, propose sustainable solutions, and develop proactive proposals. These efforts are essential to charting the optimal path toward establishing a new African humanitarian order, with preventive action taking precedence in the face of increasingly frequent and complex shocks.