Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Casablanca – Although the Arab League had previously sanctioned the use of the full Moroccan map in all its events, Algeria withdrew yesterday from an Arab League summit in Tunisia in protest of the display of Morocco’s complete map including the Western Sahara region.
Algeria justified its withdrawal from the National Conference on Digital Transformation for the Development of Social Security Institutions — which was held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Tunisia — by pointing to the lack of a map of Palestine and Lebanon, as well as the lack of defined borders for Western Sahara on the Arab world map.
In a statement to the Tunisian press, Mohamed Kerkari, President of the Arab Social Security Association, noted that the purpose of this meeting is to unify Arab countries rather than alienate them.
He emphasized that the organization’s map of the Arab world depicts it by exhibiting only the flags of its countries.
The map displayed at the Arab League meeting
The Lebanese delegation expressed disappointment with Algeria’s move, noting that the Arab League had informed its member countries that it would be using the map displayed during yesterday’s meeting.
Kerkeri emphasized that his group is attempting to persuade the Algerian delegation to return to the conference.
Read also: Colonialism and Conflict: Facts About the Map of Morocco
In late December, the Arab League sent a memo to all bodies and organizations under its banner that suggested the use of a uniform map in all their events. The attached map of Arab nations included the whole territory of Morocco, including the country’s disputed southern region of Western Sahara.
The Arab League issued the memo in response to an Algerian delegation’s objection at a conference of the Arab Women’s Organization in Cairo to the release of a map of Morocco that included Western Sahara.
This is not the first time that Algeria has withdrawn from an international event due to its displeasure with the organizers’ subtle or explicit recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara region.
In February, the Director-General of Algerian Customs, Noureddine Khalidi, withdrew from the 55th regional meeting of customs directors for North Africa, the Near and Middle East, due to the event’s adoption of the full map of Morocco.
