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The separatist Polisario Front faces another setback at the UN level as France, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has announced plans for investments in Morocco’s southern provinces in Western Sahara.
Stephane Dujarric, UN Secretary-General spokesperson on April 3 responded to a question about whether MINURSO, the UN peacekeeping mission in the Sahara, recently reported to the UN Secretary-General any news about France’s interest in investing in Moroccan southern provinces.
In response, Dujarric stressed that MINURSO’s role is not to monitor economic investments.
“No. MINURSO is not there to monitor economic investments, if there are any,” Dujarric said, adding that he does not have any information about whether France is launching any economic activities in the region.
Dujarric’s remarks came as converging reports suggested that France seeks to contribute to Morocco’s development plans in Morocco’s Dakhla and Laayoune.
The French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade confirmed the news on Thursday, noting that a subsidiary of the French Development Agency (AFD) could contribute to financing a high-voltage line between Dakhla and Casablanca.
Franck Riester made his remarks during meetings as part of his two-day visit to Morocco, with the official trip focusing on mending diplomatic ties between Paris and Rabat.
The news is set to frustrate Polisario and the Algerian regime, which is the main sponsor of the group’s separatist agenda and has vigorously lobbied in recent years against Morocco’s diplomatic gains at the UN over Western Sahara.
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For years, Polisario has claimed to be the legitimate representative of Sahrawis and proclaimed that all development activities in Dakhla and Laayoune are illegal and “a violation of international law.”
However, these claims have been repeatedly debunked at the UN and international levels.
In March, an Advocate General of the European Court of Justice pointed out in an opinion that Polisario has never been granted any status of being a national liberation movement by either the UN, the EU, or their member states. This means that the separatist group has no right to proclaim itself the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, the EU official stressed.
“With no elected or collectively recognized representative, how can those people defend their collective right to self-determination before the EU Courts?” the opinion added.
The Western Sahara dossier has been a stagnant issue marked by Algeria’s reluctance to engage in the UN-led political process to contribute to finding a lasting and sustainable political solution to the dispute.
