Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Omar Hilale, called for the strengthening of Africa’s voice in international social policies.
Speaking at the 11th Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (April 9-11 in Kampala), in a pre-recorded video, in his capacity as co-facilitator of the UN intergovernmental preparatory process of the Second World Summit for Social Development’s Political Declaration, Hilale stressed that the Africa Regional Forum continues to play a key role as a dynamic framework for collaboration, bringing together governments, civil society, academia, the private sector and other key players, adding that the contributions made at the Forum will play a fundamental role in the preparatory process for the Doha Summit.
Welcoming the participants’ call to promote solutions that address Africa’s social development’s priorities, namely eliminating poverty, full employment and a decent work for everyone, inclusion, and improving living conditions, Hilale stressed the importance of active participation from all African stakeholders, to face the current great challenges, such as climate change, demographic evolutions, and digitization.
For him it is crucial, 30 years after the First World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, to design efficient responses and to explore promising avenues for social development to guarantee a prosperous future to the African continent.
African countries collectively bear the responsibility of seizing new opportunities and facing emerging challenges, he underscored, adding that the Doha Summit comes at a crucial time for Africa, a continent with great wealth of human and natural resources, an immense potential to offer and a key role to play in worldwide development transformation.
The Second World Summit for Social Development will be an opportunity to reaffirm the Copenhagen Declaration and its Program of Action, while injecting fresh impetus into accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he maintained, adding that the event represents a valuable opportunity to capitalize on the progress made and build a forward-looking vision of social development.
Hilale also stressed that the preparatory process for the Summit’s Political Declaration is underway, pointing out that this intergovernmental process will be conducted in an open, inclusive and transparent manner, with the aim of producing a consensual, concise and action-oriented declaration.
The 2025 Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (RFSD), focused on the theme ‘Driving job creation and economic growth through sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063’, was held ahead of the 2025 UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), which will focus on the theme ‘Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals for leaving no one behind.’
The Forum provided a platform to assess progress and exchange knowledge, best practices, and policy solutions to support the 2030 Agenda, in line with regional priorities.
The Forum conducted in-depth review of SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 14 (life below water), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals). The Forum also provided support to countries presenting their voluntary national reviews (VNRs) at the 2025 HLPF.
The forum was organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Government of Uganda in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the UN system organizations.