Marrakesh Meeting Renews Commitment to Eliminate ISIS

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita (AFP)
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita (AFP)
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Marrakesh Meeting Renews Commitment to Eliminate ISIS

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita (AFP)
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita (AFP)

Morocco hosted the first meeting of the Global Coalition against ISIS in Africa, which was called upon by the Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his US counterpart Anthony Blinken, who did not attend the meeting after he tested positive for the coronavirus.

The meeting included 84 regional and international entities and 42 foreign ministers and focused on the challenges posed by terrorism in all its forms and the repositioning of ISIS in Africa.

In his opening speech at the ministerial meeting, Bourita said: "Separatism and terrorism are often two sides of the same coin," adding that a "worrying trend has been on the rise without garnering the necessary attention: the terrorism-separatism nexus."

"The collusion against the sovereignty and stability of states, and the convergence of financial, tactical and operational means, create an objective alliance between terrorist and separatist groups."

Bourita warned that "those who finance, shelter, support, and weaponize separatism, are actually contributing to spread terrorism and further compromise regional peace and security."

Morocco has been calling for a multilateral response that enhances solidarity and integration, Bourita explained.

Bourita indicated that the opening of the Rabat-based Program Office for Counter-Terrorism and Training in Africa of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism enhances the coalition's capabilities.

He explained that the UN office constitutes a new organization containing terrorism in Africa and proposes programs to boost several fields.

The FM said that Morocco had developed an effective, multi-dimensional, comprehensive strategy to combat terrorism and extremism.

The good policies developed by the Moroccan security services and the unique approach adopted by the Kingdom reflects a deep conviction in Africa's capabilities, as emphasized by King Mohammed VI.

US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland affirmed that the members of the international coalition against ISIS are committed to ensuring the complete elimination of ISIS in Iraq, Syria, Africa, and the whole world.

Nuland explained that the coalition's work includes liberating ISIS-controlled territories in Iraq and Syria and identifying global areas that may shape a fertile ground for the spread of terrorist groups.

She indicated that the participants would focus on evaluating the coalition's work and its members during the past year in Iraq, Syria, the African continent, and Afghanistan.

The official warned that ISIS continues to pose a threat, waiting to rebuild itself.

She urged vigilance in the face of the threat ISIS constantly poses globally, especially in Africa.

Terrorist attacks increased by 43 percent during the period 2018-2021 in the Sahel region, said Nuland, adding that about 500 terrorist ISIS attacks were recorded in 2021, killing more than 2,900 people on the African continent.

She warned that ISIS and other terrorist groups enhanced their influence and capabilities in the Sahel region while al-Qaeda affiliated Nusrat al-Islam threatened the Sahel region.

"The United States is committed to working with our partners in West Africa to confront the challenges that have allowed these groups to flourish, among them lack state legitimacy, persistent rights violations, and food insecurity," she said.

"In response to this and other security threats, the United States will spend over $119 million in new assistance in sub-Saharan Africa to improve the capabilities of civilian law enforcement and the judiciary to disrupt, apprehend, prosecute and convict terrorists across the continent."

In a joint press conference with Nuland, Bourita confirmed that 27 terrorist entities are registered on the UN Security Council sanctions list.

"This is a clear indicator of their connections to major global terrorist groups."

The Ministers welcomed the first meeting and reaffirmed their shared determination to continue the fight against ISIS through military and civilian-led efforts contributing to the enduring defeat of the terrorist group.

The Ministers stressed the importance of addressing underlying causes of insecurity in Africa while reiterating that any lasting solution to halting the spread of ISIS on the continent will rely primarily on national authorities, as well as sub-regional and regional efforts and initiatives that acknowledge and address the political and economic drivers of conflict.

The Ministers also reiterated their global commitment to the survivors and families of victims of ISIS crimes, including by holding the ISIS leaders and perpetrators accountable.

Earlier, the US Secretary of State spoke with the Moroccan Foreign Minister over the phone, expressing his regret that he could not attend the meeting and conveyed that Nuland would represent the US.

Blinken thanked Bourita for Morocco's hosting of the meeting, its commitment to counterterrorism, and its role in promoting regional security and stability.



Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
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Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo

Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel.

Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese serves as special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues.

She has long criticized Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some US firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday Albanese would be added to the US sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Washington to reverse course.

"Even in the face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures," he said, Reuters reported.

Juerg Lauber, the Swiss permanent representative to the UN who now holds the rotating presidency of the Human Rights Council, said he regretted the sanctions, and called on states to "refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal" against the body's experts.

Mariana Katzarova, who serves as the special rapporteur for human rights in Russia, said her concern was that other countries would follow the US lead.

"This is totally unacceptable and opens the gates for any other government to do the same," she told Reuters. "It is an attack on UN system as a whole. Member states must stand up and denounce this."

Russia has rejected Katzarova's mandate and refused to let her enter the country, but it has so far stopped short of publicly adding her to a sanctions list.

Washington has already imposed sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for suspected war crimes in Gaza. Another court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide.

Israel denies that its forces have carried out war crimes or genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza, which was precipitated by an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023.

"The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely," said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

The group's former head, Kenneth Roth, called the US sanctions an attempt "to deter prosecution of Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza".

The United States, once one of the most active members of the Human Rights Council, has disengaged from it under President Donald Trump, alleging an anti-Israel bias.