Morocco

10th session of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals
New York, 31 March - 4 April 2014

Observations by the Moroccan delegation

Mr. Tarik Iziraren


Poverty eradication and the promotion of equality through job creation, especially for youth

- As we recognize the centrality given to the focus area related to poverty eradication in all its forms, we would like to stress that the goals and targets should be framed in a way to respond and to be adaptable to the national, conditions and priorities of different countries.

- Eradicating poverty in rural areas remains a daunting challenges in many developing countries. The paragraph 109 of Rio+20 outcome document recognizes that a significant portion of the world's poor live in rural areas and that rural communities play an important role in the economic development of many countries. Furthermore, inequalities between urban and rural areas require that the necessary actions to be taken to address the specific poverty challenges in the rural areas, including the provision of public services and the development of economic activities to generate jobs and income, especially for youth.

- Addressing the goals of poverty eradication in urban and rural areas in a coherent and integrated manner is key to achieve this goal and to promote equality. In this regard, my delegation believes that it is important to dedicate a separate target to poverty eradication in rural areas.

- My delegation underscores also the need to establish a strong link between poverty eradication and job and income generation. My delegation is of the view that employment and income creation should be among the main means to fight poverty and to address the challenge of inequality.