Ambassador Omar Hilale was appointed Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations in New York on April 14, 2014. Previously, he served as Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.
He co-facilitated, alongside Israel, the General Assembly process on Prevention, Preparedness, and Response to Pandemics. Currently, he chairs the Central African Republic Configuration of the Peacebuilding Commission. He is the President of the group of supporters of middle-income countries and established the Group of Friends against Terrorism.
He co-chairs the Group of Friends on Climate Change with France, the Group of Friends for Decent Work for Sustainable Development with Belgium, and the Group of Friends of the Voluntary National Review (VNR) with the Philippines. Additionally, he has been the Chair of the Working Group on Iraq's Accession to the WTO since 2009.
He presided over the First Committee of the 76th session of the General Assembly, dealing with Disarmament and International Security, as well as the Third Committee of the 70th session of the General Assembly, addressing social, humanitarian, and human rights issues. He also chaired the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization.
With Switzerland, he co-facilitated the 2020 Review of the United Nations human rights treaty body system. He is the Vice-President of the 78th session of the General Assembly and served as Vice-President of the 72nd session. He was Vice-President of the UN ECOSOC and President of the humanitarian segment of ECOSOC for two consecutive cycles in 2019 and 2020.
He presided over the UNICEF Executive Board in 2019 and was elected Vice-President of the same Board twice in 2020 and 2021. He also chaired the UN Information Committee during the 74th and 75th sessions of the General Assembly. Ambassador Hilale represented the African Group in the Advisory Board of the UN Food Systems Summit in 2021.
He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1974, having a 30-year diplomatic career with the United Nations. He was Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva from 2001 to 2005 and from 2008 to 2014. He served as Counselor and First Secretary in Geneva from 1982 to 1991.
Ambassador Hilale was also the Secretary-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Rabat from 2005 to 2008. He was Ambassador to Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand from 1996 to 2001. He held various positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served as a diplomat in several countries, including Algiers (Algeria), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), and Monrovia (Liberia).
Mr. Hilale earned a degree in political science from Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco, in 1974. He is married and has three children.
