Morocco's Ambassador and Permanent Representative in Geneva, Omar Zniber, introduced a groundbreaking resolution on the role of women in diplomacy and their participation in the defense and promotion of human rights to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) on Thursday.
This new step towards more inclusive diplomacy was adopted by consensus by the UN Human Rights Council.
Introduced as part of the 58th session of the HRC, this resolution was carried by a trans-regional group led by Morocco —the pen-holder of this initiative— and made up of Chile, Spain, the Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, and Slovenia. The resolution enshrines a constant priority of the Kingdom's foreign policy: advancing gender equality in diplomacy as well as in multilateral forums by ensuring equal access for women to decision-making spheres.
The widely supported text recognizes the essential role of women diplomats in building a fairer, more balanced, and more sustainable international order. It's a vision that Morocco has been promoting with conviction for several years in all the bodies where it is represented.
This initiative is in line with the Kingdom's strategic orientations, both internationally and nationally.
Morocco has multiplied concrete initiatives to strengthen the place of women in public life through proactive policies and in-depth reforms, as illustrated by the current reform of the Family Code. This program aims to guarantee women the same opportunities as men in the economic, social, and institutional spheres.
On the international stage, the Kingdom is asserting itself as a credible and consistent player in multilateral solidarity. By placing gender equality at the heart of the diplomatic debate, Morocco is reminding everyone that women's rights are not a sectoral issue but a keystone of just and resilient societies.
Indeed, as President of the Human Rights Council for 2024, Zniber set up the HRC President's Advisory Council on Gender Equality to promote women's representation and leadership on the Council, a significant step forward for the United Nations Office in Geneva.
The adoption of this resolution comes at a time when the need for a collective commitment to multilateralism and representative diplomacy is more pressing than ever. By giving institutional visibility to the voice of women in diplomacy, Morocco is inscribing a strong ambition in the wake of its action within the Human Rights Council.
MAP: 03 avril 2025
