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Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of Foregin Affairs reaffirmed on Sunday that the AU’s Troika is not a mechanism for managing or arbitrating in the issue of Western Sahara.
During his participation in last week’s 34th ordinary session of the AU Summit, Bourita said that the Troika is a mechanism to accompany and support the efforts of the UN to find a solution to the Western Sahara territorial dispute.
The Moroccan FM criticized pro-Polisario countries’ and activists’ attempts to involve the AU in the management of the issue of Western Sahara.
“Morocco considered that the conduct of this mechanism under the previous South African presidency of the AU was not appropriate because of its partial and non-objective position,” Bourita said.
The FM emphasized the importance for the AU’s Troika to support the exclusive efforts of the UN in strict respect of its prerogatives as defined by Resolution 693 of the AU.
Adopted at the AU’s Nouakchott Summit in July 2018, Resolution 693 recognized the centrality of the UN Security Council in diplomatic efforts in Western Sahara. It also reiterated the AU’s support for the ongoing UN-led process to find a mutually acceptable solution to end the regional conflict.
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Bourita noted that the next Troika will be more balanced since it will be composed of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Senegal, and South Africa for one year.
From 2022, it will be composed of DRC, Senegal, and the Comoros, three countries that continue to support the UN-led political process.
“Everything that has been imagined under a South African presidency will have to be evaluated in light of concrete results, “ Bourita said.
Together with Algeria, South Africa has continuously displayed pro-Polisario activism in AU events. Taking advantage of its political weight in some AU quarters, South Africa has repeatedly shown contempt for Resolution 693 and urged the AU to support Polisario’s separatst claims against Morocco’s territorial integrity
Bourita said there have been instances when the AU served the agenda of certain diplomats and not the continent’s agenda. He noted with hope, however, that many in Africa now understand the instrumentalisation that has been made of the AU’s structures and mechanisms.
“All those who want to involve the AU in this issue will systematically find Morocco’s diplomacy mobilized so that the AU is not involved in this issue which is the responsibility of the United Nations,” Bourita concluded.
