Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Algeria’s regime continues its attempts to make the African Union (AU) interfere in the UN-led political process, which aims to find a political solution to end the Western Sahara dispute.
Algeria’s Prime Minister Aymen Benabderrahmane renewed his country’s hostility towards Morocco’s territorial integrity during the African Union Summit, which kicked off on Saturday in Addis Ababa.
During the event, the Algerian official read a speech from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who renewed his country’s support for the Polisario’s separatism claims.
The Algerian president also renewed Algeria’s support for a “referendum,” accusing Morocco of “attempts to obstruct the ongoing course of decolonization.”
He also called on the AU to “assume” its “full responsibility” towards the Western Sahara dispute through playing the “role assigned to it.”
This is not the first time Algeria’s regime has made such attempts, as it seeks to make the AU interfere in the UN-led political process.
Morocco has frequently addressed its concerns about Algeria’s blatant defiance of the AU’s pledge to support the political process and its resolutions which aim to find an agreed upon and mutually acceptable solution to end the dispute.
Algeria has also stood against AU Resolution 693, which was adopted in July 2018 during the union’s Nouakchott Summit.
The resolution recognized the centrality of the UN Security Council and reiterated the AU’s support for the ongoing UN-led political process to find an agreed upon solution to end the dispute.
Algeria has continuously displayed pro-Polisario activism at AU events and has shown contempt for resolution 693.
“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 UN,” Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita said during the 34th ordinary session of the AU summit held in February 2021.
Algeria hosts, finances, and arms the Polisario Front. The Algerian regime also claims itself to be merely an observer in the dispute despite its unwavering support for the Polisario separatist militias, suggesting that a solution should be based on negotiations between only Morocco and the separatist group.
The claims have been obstructing and undermining the path towards peace and stability in the region.
Despite Algeria’s reluctance, the UN continues to call on the country’s regime to engage in the UN-led political process to contribute to the finding of a mutually acceptable political solution.
The UN Security Council Resolution 2654 of October 2022 said that the Security Council “strongly encourages Morocco, the Frente Polisario, Algeria, and Mauritania to engage with the Personal Envoy through the duration of this process, in a spirit of realism and compromise to ensure a successful outcome.”
