“Morocco places humanitarian action at the heart of its foreign policy and African cooperation, in line with the enlightened vision of King Mohammed VI.”

This statement was made by Mohamed Arrouchi, Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, during a public session of the AU’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) on refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and humanitarian aid in Africa on May 2, 2026.

The diplomat emphasized that Morocco’s humanitarian efforts extend beyond emergency aid or mobile hospitals. The approach is rooted in sustainable actions that relieve affected populations, incorporating co-development, expertise sharing, and best practice exchange.

This vision also addresses the humanitarian consequences of climate change and desertification, which are already increasing the number of climate refugees on the continent, he explained. The approach includes a commitment to responsible governance of humanitarian action to ensure aid reaches those in need without diversion or exploitation.

Arrouchi stressed that humanitarian responses in Africa must be multidimensional, combining humanitarian action with conflict prevention, mediation, peacebuilding, and development to address the root causes of forced displacement.

He also called for strengthening the resilience of communities affected by conflicts, natural disasters, and climate shocks to reduce vulnerability to future crises.

The diplomat highlighted the need to enhance Africa’s capacity for anticipating, preventing, and responding to future humanitarian crises—especially those linked to climate change—through early warning systems, preparedness, and resilience mechanisms tailored to the continent’s realities.

He underscored the importance of transparency, accountability, monitoring, and evaluation in African humanitarian action to ensure aid reaches those in need and prevent diversion, manipulation, or exploitation of resources.

Arrouchi also emphasized the need to strengthen mechanisms for registering, tracking, and managing data on refugees and internally displaced persons using credible, verified, and regularly updated information to improve the efficiency of humanitarian responses and ensure proper resource allocation.

The diplomat noted that Africa faces an exceptionally concerning humanitarian situation marked by unprecedented waves of people fleeing conflict, climate threats, economic slowdowns, rising food insecurity, and malnutrition in several regions.

This has created urgent humanitarian needs that collective responses have often failed to meet effectively due to national, regional, and continental constraints, he said.

In light of this crisis, Arrouchi called for focusing on operational and pragmatic solutions, adopting a rational approach, proposing sustainable solutions, and developing proactive proposals to guide the establishment of a new African humanitarian order.

He stressed the need to prioritize preventive action in the face of increasingly frequent and complex shocks.