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Morocco's legitimate claims to sovereignty over Sahara

Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara is that of a historical fact, a legal

legitimacy and a nation’s will, fully reflected by Morocco in all its human,

social, political, cultural, and economic components.

For Morocco, the Sahara issue is not a mere item on the agenda of the UN

Security Council but rather represents a historical injustice done to

Morocco in the recovery of its territorial integrity. It is indeed a matter

linked to the dignity and sovereignty of the Moroccan people.

Prior to the colonial era, the Sahara has always been part of Morocco.

Several bilateral treaties signed in the 18th and 19th centuries, attest to

this reality. The International Court o f Justice recognized unanimously,

on October 1975, the existence of bonds of allegiance, between the Kings

of Morocco and the tribes living in the territory. For more than 12

centuries, Morocco was a fully sovereign and independent Nation prior to

its occupation by different European powers namely France (Center), Spain

(North and South) and Tangiers, which was an international zone.

The decolonization process of the Kingdom was exceptional and achieved

gradually through negotiations that led to the independence of the central

part of Morocco in 1956.

Since then, Morocco was fully committed in its struggle to recover the

whole of its national territory, which in the south, was still under Spanish

control. In June 1962, Morocco addressed an official request to the UN

decolonization committee calling on Spain to start peaceful negotiations

over the remaining territories of Sidi Ifni and “Western Sahara”.

No other

country objected to the Moroccan claim and this was way before the

creation of the separatist armed group “polisario front”.

As a matter of fact, Morocco was finally able to recover Sidi Ifni in 1969

and subsequently the Sahara in 1975 through the Madrid agreements,

registered in the UN.

The retrocession of these territories to Morocco was the result of

negotiations with Spain that are well documented and that fully dismiss the

myth of the “last colony of Africa”.

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Since 1975, the regional dispute over the Sahara cannot be referred to as a

decolonization issue. It is indeed an issue related to the territorial integrity

of Morocco.

Those who falsely claim that Morocco is a

“colonization power”

are also

attempting to rewrite history. One has to consider that Morocco played a

leading role in the fight against colonialism and apartheid in Africa.

It is Morocco that hosted, in 1960, the famous “Conference of Casablanca”,

attended by leaders of the liberation movements, such as King Mohamed V

and the Presidents Nkrumah of Ghana, Modibo Keita of Mali and Ahmed

Sekou Touré of Guinea, the founding fathers of the OAU. Morocco was the

one that hosted in April 1961 the Conference of Support to the Liberation

Movements of the territories under Portuguese colonization, it was also

from Morocco that a huge solidarity movement was launched to support

Algeria’s struggle for independence. Last but not least, it is Morocco,

among other countries that provided Nelson Mandela with assistance,

training, funds and weapons to support the ANC’s armed struggle against

the apartheid regime.

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The referendum is an obsolete option to solve the Sahara conflict

Those who strive to make the referendum the milestone of their position on

the Sahara issue are still keeping alive, without any sense of coherence and

reason, a bygone past of an obsolete concept. Indeed, the page of the

referendum has been irrevocably turned by the international community and

legality which are focalized exclusively on the prospects of a political

solution.

The attachment to the referendum option is unjustified and void, not

constituting,

for almost two decades,

a conceivable or even an achievable

alternative. It cannot, in this regard, be presented as a proposal brought to

the negotiating table, as it constitutes an empty shell, devoid of any

relevance and imbued by an outdated logic.

The referendum has never been a principle of international law as some may

like to imply. The concepts of Law have a definition, a framework,

requirements and even a history.

For its part, the referendum mechanism is neither mentioned in any

fundamental UN text on self-determination, nor is it referred to in the UN

charter.

Furthermore, the referendum is by no means an obligatory or even an

exclusive way to achieve self-determination.

Since 1945, the UN has only

resolved three cases by referendum out of 64 regarding territorial

disputes,

while the rest have been resolved through political negotiations.

Nowadays, the eminently false rumors that some parties would like to

spread are that Morocco rejects by principle the referendum option. This is

obviously a blatant untruth that omits the fact that Morocco was the first to

propose the referendum option in 1981 at the 18th Summit of the

Organization of African Unity in Nairobi.

The Resolution AHG / RES.103 (XVIII), adopted on this occasion,

expressly welcomed the proposal of late King Hassan II and decided to

create an Implementation Committee, composed of seven Heads of State, to

which the Summit attributed a mandate consisting in undertaking, alongside

the United Nations, all the necessary measures to guarantee the exercise of

a general and regular referendum of self-determination.

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Algeria was taken aback by the African Summit’s decision, as it had

already decided, in its own mind, about the future of the populations by

recognizing a so-called Sahrawi republic.

On February 27, 1981, the former Secretary General of the “polisario

front”, Mohamed Abdul-Aziz made the following declaration to the

Algerian press agency: “for our part, the idea of referendum is outdated and

we invite the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to come and see it on

the ground”.

Moreover, the implementation of this referendum was hampered and

blocked the following year, when the Secretary General of the

Organization of African Unity prejudged the results of the

referendum option by illegally admitting an entity devoid of any

attribute of sovereignty, violating thus the Charter of the Organization

which stipulates,

explicitly in its Articles 4 and 28, being “an African,

independent and sovereign State” as conditions of membership in the

Organization.

Despite this flagrant violation of law, Morocco maintained during the

first years the referendum option, this time turning towards the United

Nations. In the conduct of this process initiated and supported by the

Kingdom, the United Nations negotiated a ceasefire in 1991 and set up a

peacekeeping mission, MINURSO, whose mandate was, at that time, to

monitor the ceasefire and organize a referendum on the future of the region.

For over a decade, the United Nations attempted to organize this

referendum, and failed. This was confirmed by its then Secretary General,

late Kofi Annan who declared in the year 2000, explicitly and

unequivocally

that the referendum was inapplicable.

This evaluation clearly and irrevocably ousted the referendum option. The

wording used by the UN Secretary General left no room for any possible

interpretation: “With the exception of the monitoring of the ceasefire in

force since September 6, 1991, none of the main provisions of the

settlement plan have been fully implemented since the establishment of

MINURSO, because of fundamental differences between the parties over

its interpretation”.

The main difficulty, that could not be overcome, during that period, was the

identification of the eligible electoral base for the referendum.

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This deadlock

turns down any hope to see one day the referendum

implemented.

Since then, no UN Security Council resolution has called

for a referendum in the last 20 years.

Moreover, it is the Security Council itself which, while being confronted

with the difficulties of drawing up electoral lists, recommended to the

Secretary General, in its resolution of February 29, 2000 (S / RES / 1292),

“to ask his Personal Envoy to consult the parties and, (….) explore the means

of achieving an early, durable and agreed resolution of this conflict”.

Since February 2000, the UN Secretary General has proceeded to a

negotiated political settlement, requesting his Special Envoy, Mr. James

Baker to work towards achieving a political solution to this regional

dispute.

Thus, the option of a “third path”, going completely beyond the referendum

logic, was introduced to overcome the deadlock. To this end, the agreement

drawn up by the Personal Envoy of the Secretary General, Mr. James

Baker, and supported by the Security Council in its June 2001 resolution

1359, provided a basis for negotiations towards autonomy under the

unwavering sovereignty of the Moroccan State.

In conformity with constructive compromise, this plan was accepted by

Morocco but rejected by Algeria and the “polisario front”, always faithful to

their tireless efforts to hinder the relevance and coherence of a realistic and

pragmatic political process.

In addition to making constant obstacles in this process, Algeria went

even further by proposing, at that time, the partition of the territory,

shedding lights therefore, through this diplomatic clumsiness, not only

on its role as a party to the dispute but also on its real aspirations and

dishonest personal interests in the management of this issue.

On November 2, 2001, James Baker received the Algerian President at that

time, Abdelaziz Bouteflika in his Institute in Houston. The Secretary

General of the United Nations refers to this visit in his report of February

20, 2002 (S/2002/178):

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“On 24 and 25 January 2002, my Personal Envoy, James A. Baker III,

visited Morocco, where he was received twice by His Majesty King

Mohammed VI and high-level government officials. The purpose of the

visit of my Personal Envoy was to inform the Moroccan authorities of the

rejection by Algeria and the “polisario front” of the draft framework

agreement, as had been reiterated to him by the President of Algeria,

Abdelaziz Bouteflika, during his visit to the James Baker Institute in

Houston, Texas, on November 2, 2001, and that, in the view of my

Personal Envoy, Algeria and the “polisario front” would be prepared to

discuss or negotiate a division of the Territory as a political solution to the

dispute over Western Sahara”.

In fact, by supporting the idea of partition or division, Algeria betrays the

principle of the right to self-determination, by indicating its willingness to

engage in bargaining to divide lands and populations. This has led the

international community to believe that the Sahara issue is rooted in a

failure to respect the right to self-determination; whilst this is complete and

utter misinformation. It is indeed a regional dispute fueled and kept

alive by some parties for mere geopolitical purposes far from any

consideration of justice, fairness, humanism or humanity.

Subsequently, the second plan called Baker II presented by the UNSG

personal envoy in 2002 did not meet, for its part, the requirements of a

process that was moving forward as it proceeded from a return to a

settlement plan which proved its inapplicability.

In June 2004 and following these failed “Baker” dynamics, Mr. Alvaro De

Soto appointed by the United Nations Secretary General to carry on the

process of political mediation proposed to initiate negotiations on

autonomy.

Algeria and the “polisario front” have once again, refused this prospect in

an approach dictated by inoperative positions, substantially deviating from

the international legality.

Categorically refusing these ideological stances, the Security Council has

repeatedly called on the parties to deploy efforts in order to emergefrom the

crisis and to reach a political solution.

Notably and most significantly, all

of the 34 resolutions adopted by the Security Council since 2001 do not

mention or refer at any moment or in anyway to the referendum.

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For its part, the General Assembly abandoned the referendum option more

than 18 years ago and no report by the Secretary General has referred to

this mechanism since the recognition of its inapplicability two decades ago.

The way forward shaped by international legality is clear and unequivocal.The

supporters of the referendum are not only on the fringes of the law but

are in flagrant contradiction of a process initiated, wanted and

supported by an international community,

explicitly devoted to the

search for a political solution to the dispute.

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The valorization of natural resources in the Sahara, in conformity of the

International Law

Morocco has a just cause and a legitimate ambition. In its Saharan provinces,

as elsewhere throughout its national territory, the Kingdom has never ceased to

promote the interests of its citizens.

Never has Morocco looted natural resources in the Sahara. Facts and figures

speak to the contrary, for every 1$ extracted from the region, the central

government of Morocco has reinvested 7$.

By creating added value and massively investing in the future of the region,

Morocco has created a momentum for prosperity and development in its

southern provinces.

In no way can the exploitation of natural resources in the Sahara be referred to

as a self-interested approach, as it is the result of a concerted ambition

established and implemented with the local populations and for their own

benefits.

Today modernization, industrialization and economic integration are the

driving forces of the outstanding development process unfolding in the

Southern region. Indeed, Morocco has made tireless and unconditional efforts,

in recent decades, to promote the local economy, consolidate social cohesion

and fight against poverty. The aim of this sovereign anddemocratic approach is

to achieve effective prosperity throughout the national territory and for the

benefit of all Moroccan citizens from Tangierto Lagouira.

For the past decades, the economic and social development of the Sahara has

been a priority for Morocco.

The resulting benefits of this approach are outstanding. The region has

experienced real economic progress. Elected bodies, in the southern provinces

of the Moroccan Sahara have the total capacity and ability to manage and

budget democratically their respective affairs. In this regard, increased powers

were granted, through the Constitution and national laws, to the regions,

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especially in the management of local natural resources and investment projects

aiming to achieving prosperity and equitable benefit.

The main objective of the policy conducted in the region is to provide direct

and substantial benefits to the local population. In line with this policy,

the

European Union, one of our main partners, approved in 2019 the revision

of two EU-Moroccan trade agreements relating to agriculture and fisheries

extending them to the Saharan provinces of Morocco.

In the same perspective and at the heart of this approach is the New

Development Model for the southern provinces, which is deeply rooted in the

respect and promotion of Human Rights. The participatory and inclusive

nature of this development model is all the more fundamental as civil society;

various elected officials and local stakeholders have been invited to shape and

guide this process through collaboration, dialogue and several consultations.

Numerous new initiatives and mega projects have emerged in the region, always

with the same perspective of promoting modernity and local development.

Today, the landscape of the southern provinces has been turned upside down

thanks to, among other things, the establishment of roads, electrification

units, the construction of airports, new housing structures, the expansion of

educational networks and the building of a seawater desalination unit.

With a participation rates in regional elections that outshine even the oldest

of democracies, the southern provinces thrive within their cherished, honored

and endlessly claimed Moroccan identity.

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Achievements in terms of human rights in the Sahara

Human dignity is not a mere ambition, a slogan, nor a pious wish. It is indeed a

constant and unwiring commitment of the Kingdom of Morocco that reflects on

every component of its public policy.

At a time when some would like to point out Morocco for obvious political

purposes, the Kingdom continues with confidence, serenity andresponsibility to

move forward in its path of democracy and development. Morocco has a highly

positive record in the region in terms of human rights. The reforms undertaken

by the Kingdom throughout its national territory and for the benefit of all

Moroccan citizens are widely praised by the international community as they

are recognized, as consistent with the rule of law, democracy and freedom.

Morocco has raised, in a sovereign decision, the human dimension at the heart

of its priorities with the sole ambition to meet and fulfill the willof its people.

Civil liberties, including freedom of speech, press, gathering, association, and

gender equality are fully enshrined in Morocco’s Constitution.

In all political, economic, social and cultural fields, respect for liberties is not

only guaranteed and protected, but rather further developed and reinforced.

For many years, important measures, actions and reforms have been

undertaken in this direction. In 2019, the United Nations Human Rights

Committee ranked Morocco among the top five countries that have

successfully implemented the United Nations recommendations on the

protection of human rights.

It is therefore totally unfounded that Morocco is abusing human rights whether

in the southern provinces or elsewhere. The Kingdom is at the forefront of

international standards, continuously and relentlessly consolidating the rule of

law, the independence of the judiciary and civil liberties, throughout its

territory without any exception.

In this sense, Morocco has extended an open invitation to all the special

procedures of OHCHR to visit the Kingdom and its Saharan provinces.

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Morocco has hosted 12 of such special procedures without restriction,

which were attended by journalists, experts, activists and other relevant

stakeholders.

Morocco has nothing to hide and has no complexes, taboos or lessons to be

taught regarding human rights issues. We have strengthened our national

instruments through the National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) with

extended powers of investigation and control. It is common knowledge that the

CNDH is in full compliance with the Paris principles and the international

standards adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993.

Furthermore, the UN Security Council has welcomed the role of the Regional

Commissions of the National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) in Laâyoune

and Dakhla as well as Morocco’s interaction with the mechanisms of the United

Nations Human Rights Council.

The unfounded allegations of a so-called violation of Human Rights by

Morocco engage and question the integrity, the seriousness and the

responsibility of a fallacious stance disconnected from the realities on the

ground.

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Human rights situation in Tindouf camps, a source of concern

The human rights violations by the “polisario front” in the Tindouf camps in

Algeria have been ongoing since the first camps were set up more than40 years

ago, and systematically abuses have increased.

The people living in the so called “refugee camps” at Tindouf, in Algeria are

held against their will for more than 46 years. They live in a dire humanitarian

situation with multiple human rights abuses and violations, with no choice of

leaving the camps. This should be of the utmost concern to the international

community.

Failing to its responsibilities and violating its obligations of international law,

Algeria, as a host country of the ‘’refugee’’ camps, has helped, in maintaining

these populations sequestered for more than four decades in complete violation

of their basic and elementary human rights.

Indeed, Human rights violations and systematic abuses of this population by

the “polisario front” in the Tindouf camps have multiplied since the

establishment of those camps, obliging Sahraouis of the camps to live in total

deprivation of their most basic rights such as right of expression, of assembly,

of movement, or of work.

The disastrous Humanitarian situation in Tindouf camps is atypical if itis to be

compared to all existing refugee camps in the world. Indeed, it is the only

“refugee” camp that is:



Keeping Sahraouis in captivity, for more than four decades withouta right

to leave the camps;



Seeking to perpetuate the refugee situation which initially was supposed

to be temporary, by opposing any durable solution as perinternational law;



Militarized to threaten or kill any Sahraouis who want to leave thecamps

and return to their motherland, Morocco;



Opposed to the UNHCR census of the population in the camps.

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The humanitarian situation is more critical when human rights violations of

Sahraouis people in Tindouf camps occur daily, depriving them of their basic

civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. In fact, the absence of an

international legal framework makes the situation even worse and

unacceptable.

Algeria’s responsibility in the deplorable humanitarian situation of these

populations is undeniable. Indeed, Algeria has consistently hampered the

organization of a census and denied these populations their own right to

choose between the voluntary return to their motherland, their integration in

the host country or their reinstallation elsewhere.

By opposing the registration of the population in the Tindouf camps, Algeria is

seeking to dissimulate the origin of persons residing in these camps, who are

often brought from neighboring sub-Saharan countries to outnumber the real

number of Sahraouis in the camps.

To the precarious and dangerous situation that prevails in the camps, one should

add the opacity that characterizes it. Indeed the “polisario front”, who is an

armed separatist group, known for its despotic ruling in the camps and links to

terrorist groups in the Sahel-Saharan region, continues to refuse, with the

support of Algeria, any access to international human rights and humanitarian

organizations to the camps.

The few visits that were allowed into the camps were permitted under strict

requirements and monitoring by the “polisario front” and Algeria. UNHCR and

World Food Program, for instance, can only have access to the camps if they

abide by those requirements, and that explains why the UNHCR to this day

could not implement any of the main components of its mandate, that is the

registration and census of the refugee population.

This opacity serves to hide more outrageous realities, that fortunately were

unveiled by the international humanitarian organizations such as UNHCR

and the World Food Program, that have denounced humanitarian aid

embezzlement, following a joint inspection mission in 2005 instigated by the

EU Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid.

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The latter had decided to halve its humanitarian aid to the Tindouf camps

populations after having noted embezzlement practices in the camps. In 2007, it

was the European Anti-Fraud Office’s turn (OLAF) who voiced the same

concern over the embezzlement of humanitarian aid by the “polisario front”.

Since then, embezzlement continues at the same pace, at the expense of the

health of the civilian population of the Tindouf camps. One should recall the

European parliament resolution that was adopted, in 29 April 2015, urging the

commission of the European Union to ensure that Algerians and Saharouis

individuals incriminated in the OLAF report are denied access to the aid

financed by the European tax payer.

No later than June 9, 2020, NGO Light and Justice launched an appeal to the

European Union for ending the illicit enrichment of the “polisario front”

members through humanitarian aid embezzlement. The NGO underlined that,

due to the sale of most humanitarian aid in some neighboring countries, which

is now a well-documented phenomenon, hunger and thirst haunts the

inhabitants of the Tindouf camps.

The systematic embezzlement of humanitarian aid, with total impunity, is only

made possible by the persistent refusal of Algeria to allow a census of the

Tindouf camps populations to be conducted, in defiance of all resolutions

adopted by the Security Council since 2011.

On the other hand, by devolving to the “polisario front” the authority on a part

of its territory, Algeria, as a host country is in blatant violation of the 1951

Convention on the status of refugees and its 1967 Protocol, as well as all

conclusions of the Executive Committee of the UN Commissioner for

Refugees.

This situation is indeed exceptional in regard of international humanitarian law,

because it allows the “polisario front” to perpetrate systematic human rights

violations in the Tindouf camps in order to crush any challenge to its

legitimacy. Thus, arbitrary detention, kidnappings, and torture perpetrated with

the active complicity of Algeria are part of everyday life for the civilian

population.

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As the host country, Algeria is the holder of specific obligations to prevent,

investigate, and punish violations of the rights of the persons on its territory,

while ensuring legal compensation. The UN Human Rights Council and

Human Right Committee have expressed, respectively in 2018 and 2020, its

concerns over “the de facto devolution of authority to the “polisario front”,

especially jurisdictional authority”.

Today the international community cannot remain silent in the face of the

distress of these populations. It has the obligation to save them from the horrors

of the “polisario front” and give them the right to choose their return to their

motherland, Morocco, or to be integrated to the host country, or to relocation

elsewhere.

The international community must also grant them a fundamental right to a

headcount that will guarantee them international protection, as recognized by

humanitarian international law, UN General Assembly and Security Council

resolutions, and by the UNHCR Executive committee. Indeed, the registration

of these populations is by no means a political operation, but a humanitarian

requirement and a statutory obligation which is long overdue, and which

should be implemented as soon as possible. It is all about respecting the most

basic rights of these populations held captive in inhumane conditions for more

than 45 years. It is therefore important to stress on the following measures that

need tobe implemented to protect the Tindouf camps population:



The refugees’ registration is a prerequisite for the implementation of HCR

three mandates: international protection, providing assistance, and search of

sustainable solutions;



The responsibility and obligation of host countries in facilitating the HCR

mandate allowing the protection of the refuge population on their soil by

allowing the census and the registration of these populations without a

precondition;



Any credible and objective strategy to help refugees should be based on

certain prerequisites: accurate census of refugees, setting up viable structures

of humanitarian aid distribution, control and follow up mechanisms of

assistance, guaranteeing freedom ofaccess to the camps by the host countries;

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

The host country should preserve the civilian and humanitariancharacter of

the refugee camps;



The voluntary returns as a sustainable solution to refugee’s longstanding

deplorable situation. The HCR should explore and implement the other

solutions, namely, local integration, reinstallation in their country when

voluntary repatriation is not possible;



The voluntary repatriation should not be politically motivated in order to

not compromise the freewill return of refugees.

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The way forward for a final settlement of this regional dispute

Following the recognition of the inapplicability of the referendum option by

the SGNU Kofi Annan, 20 years ago, the UN Security Council called upon the

parties to find a political solution to this regional dispute. This perspective

disavows any other alternative pattern that would not be consistent with UN

calls.

On the same line, the AU, in accordance with decision 693 of the

Nouakchott Summit held in July 2018, reaffirmed and strongly confirmed

the exclusivity of the UN process, thus preventing the emergence of any

parallel or alternative path likely to harm the political process engaged

within the Security Council.

Today, sole the parameters explicitly and exclusively set by the Security

Council condition, support and steer the research for a definitive solution to the

Sahara issue.

In this sense, the UN Security Council has defined clear and unequivocal

parameters for the way forward. The United Nations wording, and therefore

that of international legality, advocates a realistic, pragmatic and lasting

political solution, based on compromise.

Without deviating from this perspective, Morocco has, with all responsibility,

demonstrated a constructive approach in tune with UN requirements.

It is this same spirit, fueled by the Kingdom’s unwavering attachment to its

territorial integrity and by a pragmatism widely praised by the international

community that Morocco presented in 2007, the Moroccan initiative for the

negotiation of an autonomy statute for the Sahara region.This autonomy plan is a

“win-win” solution that represents a realistic andpragmatic way to put an end to

this dispute in full consistency with the guidelines of the Security Council, the

only body mandated to deal withthe issue.

Indeed, the autonomy plan brings hope for a better future for the people of the

region, puts an end to separation and promotes reconciliation. It is in conformity

with international law and the Charter of the United Nations while fully

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respecting the right to self-determination and the resolutions of the Security

Council on this issue. In fact, the Autonomy Status of the Moroccan Sahara

region will be negotiated and submitted to the concerned populations for

consultation, as stated in the article 27 of the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative.

Moreover, this plan is the result of an extensive consultation process

conducted at the national, regional and international levels.

As a third way between pure integration and independence, it is the only

solution that satisfies the parameters laid out in Security Council resolution

2548: a realistic, practicable, and enduring political solution that rests on

compromise.

The relevance of this autonomy plan is such that it has been supported by an

overwhelming majority of African countries as well as countries from other

continents. It remains the only proposal on the table.

Since 2007, the 16

resolutions of the UN Security Council have all supported the Moroccan

approach by emphasizing the preeminence of its initiative, its seriousness

and its credibility.

It should be recalled that in line with this dynamic fueled by the Moroccan

proposal, in 2008 Mr. Peter Van Walsum, the Personal Envoy of the UN

Secretary General and facilitator for the first four rounds of UN negotiations,

explicitly stated,

“That an independent Sahara is not an achievable

objective”.

He urged the Security Council to pursue the only achievable

political compromise solution, namely autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.

The Council and the international community have called upon all parties,

namely Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the separatist movement of the

“polisario front”, to continue talks in the framework of the round tables in

Geneva in order to reach a political solution that meets the parameters defined

by the Security Council.

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US recognition of Morocco’s Sovereignty over its Sahara is not an

isolated move

History always defeats those who distort it. The international recognitions

of the Moroccaness of the Saharan provinces of Morocco reflects the

exponential and irreversible progress of a dynamic of law, coherence and

fairness which condemns the marketers of division into profound

isolation and penumbra

Through His active leadership, His strategic vision and His proactive

action, His Majesty the King, Mohammed VI has set the course for a

Moroccan diplomacy resolutely turned towards a future that fully honours

the past of 12 centuries of history and ancient identity.

Fairness, coherence, solidarity and cooperation are undivided features of

the Kingdom’s doctrine in Foreign Policy, established, at the highest

level of the State, by His Majesty the King and implemented in all

manners by the country’s diplomatic representations.

Nowadays, thanks to this lucidity in the procedures and this farsightedness of

visions, our diplomacy witnesses a great success in terms of the

preservation and consolidation of the territorial integrity of the Kingdom

with statistics showing that 163 countries, representing 85% of the UN

member states, do not recognize the fictitious entity.

In this respect, the American proclamation recognizing the full and entire

sovereignty of Morocco on its Saharan provinces does not only represent a

historic achievement but equally a diplomatic synergy emphasizing the

legitimacies of the protection and preservation of a united and federated

Morocco at the international level.

The international community’s bell resounds every time louder to echo the

undeniable and incontestable realities of the full and entire sovereignty of

Morocco on its Sahara. More than a formal, unambiguous and explicit

recognition, the American proclamation comes, in its essence, to confirm

the international tendency expressing, in a proactive manner, the

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URU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 164: Henvendelse af 12/3-21 fra Embassy of Morocco vedr. Sahara

unwavering support given to the pre-eminence of the Moroccan approach

which has never deviated from the principles of the international legality.

The United States and Morocco enjoy an interlaced relation of friendship,

trust and cooperation. The strategic character of this partnership betweenthe

two countries was the prelude of this eminent American decision, as for

many years, the different US administrations have always shown a

political positive empathy and support towards Morocco and its autonomy

plan presented in 2007. The American proclamation is thus, the natural

extension of this exceptional bond, linking Rabat to Washington since far

back in time. In other words, there is nothing cyclical about this American

decision, as it is the result of a dialogue and a partnership that has

reached an unmatched degree of maturity.

The American proclamation comes to crown the strong and structural

diplomatic convergence between the two countries within the framework

of mutual understanding and strict respect of the international legality. It

goes, in its implications, beyond the exclusively bilateral framework. The

United States, as a great power, permanent member of the UN Security

Council and Penholder of the UN Resolutions on the Moroccan Sahara,

has a determinant role at the international level.

The fresh impetus and precise orientations of this historic turning point

will mark the actions of the diplomatic corridors converging within the

Security Council, the only organ to deal exclusively with the regional

conflict created around the Moroccan Sahara. The formal recognition by

the United States of Morocco’s Sovereignty over its Sahara is a source of

extra satisfaction, particularly for the Moroccan diplomacy as well as for

the entire nation.

Furthermore, a number of brotherly countries opened their Consulates

General in the cities of Laayoune and Dakhla, recognizing therefore, in a

clear manner, the Moroccaness of the Sahara.

In the same vein, the opening of an American Consulate General in

Dakhla conjugates to political support the exceptional economic

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URU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 164: Henvendelse af 12/3-21 fra Embassy of Morocco vedr. Sahara

prospects for both countries, making of mutual beneficial cooperation the

basis of their ambitions for prosperity.

The Autonomy Plan presented by Morocco constitutes the only valid and

relevant option for reaching a final solution to this regional dispute. All

the parameters defined by the Security Council are fully reflected in this

plan, which constitutes the archetype of a realistic, pragmatic and

compromise-based political solution.

At a recent high-level ministerial conference in support of Morocco’s

autonomy initiative, a plethora of foreign ministers and senior government

officials representing more than 40 countries expressed strong support for

the Moroccan proposal, explicitly emphasizing that it constitutes the one

and only prospect for a final solution to this regional dispute.

The importance of the U.S. presidential proclamation is therefore not

limited to the recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara as it

establishes, above all, a clear and firm perspective for a final settlement of

the dispute: autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.

The semantics used by some parties does only reflect an outdated and

obsolete ideology which is not only in contradiction with history and

international law but also with the security requirements of a world where

failed States definitely do have neither place nor any relevance.

Coherence is necessary to face the security threat as it is in the void that

terrorism thrives and in this same void, Africa takes the risk of hampering

its march towards emergence and prosperity.

Source:

“Moroccan Sahara: Understand the roots and dynamics of the regional

dispute”, Youssef Amrani, former Delegate-Minister for Foreign Affairs and

Cooperation, February 1

2021

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