UN-Habitat has been cooperating with Morocco since 1995 on national and local programs in the field of sustainable urban development. Today, in order to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal 11 - “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” – and to mobilize Morocco towards Habitat III, UN-Habitat engages in development challenges in cities, promotion of decent housing and improvement of basic services and development of an urban and regional environmental framework. Since its establishment this cooperation and partnership have directly involved four key ministries and nearly twenty cities in the Kingdom, as well as helped with capacity building of national and local stakeholders. In its work UN-Habitat supports ministries and national agencies as well as municipalities with operational projects, national strategies, technical expertise and capacity building through:

1.  an integrated approach on territorial issues;
2. bridging the urban divide; and
3. the participation of stakeholders in decision-making and implementation of programs.

The cooperation between the Kingdom of Morocco und UN-Habitat is taking place against a set of specific urban challenges.

Monceyf Fadili, Advisor UN-Habitat Morocco

Key Partners

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Policy, Al Omrane Holding’s umbrella department and UN-Habitat counterpart, is in charge of the Urban Policy since 2012. The focus is on (i) control and management of cities’ growth; (ii) urban strategic planning; (iii) balance between the productive city and the inclusive city; (iv) search for complementarities between urban and regional spaces; (v) development of an urban policy in close correlation with a vision of territorial planning.

The General Directorate of the Local Governments (DGCL), Ministry of Interior, is the entity dedicated to the management of communes. As a focal point of the territorial administration, it finances and supervises the communes, through the powers of the walis and governors, who play a crucial role in the coordination of the various State departments policies. The DGCL also plays a key part in the capacity building of the communes to enable them to assume their responsibility as regards strategic urban planning.

• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Policy is in charge of housing and urban policies; • Al-Omrane Development Holding (HAO) is the strategic tool of the state for slum upgrading, social housing, large scale urban projects and new towns; • The municipalities and local authorities are in charge of the implementation of national policies and urban programs at local level; • Local, regional and national partners as well as the private sector and civil society actors are involved in project development and implementation.

Prizes awarded to Morocco within the framework of the partnership with UN-Habitat

• 2010 – UN-Habitat Scroll of Honor for the Cities Without Slums Program “Villes sans bidonvilles”, World Habitat Day, Shanghai, China, October 2010. • 2001 – Istanbul+5 – Best Practices Prize for the Poverty Reduction Program, Special Assembly on Habitat II+5, New York. • 1996 – Habitat II – Best Practices Prize for the Project of Agadir City “Improving Housing Conditions”, Istanbul. • 1995 –UN-Habitat Scroll of Honor for the Project of Taza City awarded to the National Shelter Upgrading Agency (ANHI), World Habitat Day, Curitiba, Brazil.