Western Sahara: Morocco Gains More Support from US Congress

Taroudant – Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chairwoman of the Subcommittee of Foreign Affairs for the MENA region to the US House of Representatives, said yesterday in Washington that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s recent controversial statement calls into question the UN’s neutrality and its ability to facilitate a negotiated solution to the Western Sahara conflict.

“The SG of the UN has not only called into question the neutrality of the international organization, but also its ability to facilitate a negotiated solution [to the Sahara issue]” said Ros-Lehtinen, who chaired a hearing Congress dedicated to Moroccan-U.S. relations.

In this situation, Ros-Lehtinen said that it is “vital” that the United States reaffirms “our position of support for Morocco” in finding a final solution to the Sahara issue on the basis of Morocco’s  autonomy plan.

The senior U.S. Representative from Florida further noted that the Kingdom is distinguished by its model of stability and reform in a region plagued with instability and violence.

The UN Secretary-General’s statement during his recent tour to the region in which he used the word “occupation” to describe Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara, has sparked wide condemnation from international institutions.

Early this month, a bipartisan group of US Congress slammed the UN Secretary-General’s “reprehensible” actions, calling on the US State department to reaffirm the United States’ longstanding position of support for a resolution of the issue based on Morocco’s autonomy plan.

Unexpectedly, Ban Ki-moon’s annual report came with no new recommendations against Morocco’s interests regarding the Sahara conflict. Instead, the report stressed the need for an agreement on the nature and form of self-determination.