Rabat — In a recent meeting with the UN Envoy Staffan de Mistura, Morocco reaffirmed the fundamentals of its position regarding Western Sahara.
The delegation reiterated its position on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 2024).
During their meeting on Sunday with de Mistura, the Moroccan delegation expressed strong support for the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy in seeking a realistic, pragmatic, and sustainable political solution based on compromise.
The delegation, which consists of Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita and Morocco’s ambassador to the UN Omar Hilale, emphasized that the Moroccan Autonomy Plan is the only viable solution to this regional dispute.
During the meeting, the Moroccan delegation renewed Morocco’s position based on the four fundamental principles as defined by King Mohammed VI. Among these principles included Morocco’s support for the UN-led political process towards finding a political solution to the lingering and decades-long dispute.
Morocco also highlighted emphasis on the continuity of UN-sponsored roundtable discussions that engage all parties to the dispute. Among these parties includeAlgeria, which has been reluctant to shoulder its responsibility in the dispute, hampering the UN-led political process.
Morocco also echoed its strict respect for a ceasefire by all parties as a prerequisite for the continuation of the political process.
The four principles of its position in the Western Sahara have been echoed consistently by Moroccan leaders, including King Mohammed VI.
The monarch reiterated the fundamentals of Morocco’s position in several speeches, including the 45th and the 46th anniversaries of the Green March.
He said in one of the aforementioned speeches that “Morocco will not waiver in its position. Nor will it be affected, in any way, by the useless provocations and desperate scenes of the other parties, which attest to a headlong rush, now that their outdated claims have failed.”
In his 46th speech, the monarch made similar remarks, and reaffirmed Morocco’s adherence to a political settlement under the auspices of the UN.
“I would like, once again, to assure His Excellency the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, and his Personal Envoy, of our full support for the efforts the UN Secretary-General is making to reactivate the political process as soon as possible,” the monarch stated.
Algeria has long-persisted in its position as merely an observer to the conflict, despite its financial and military backing of the separatist militia, the Polisario Front.
Still, the Algerian military regime has been claiming that only Morocco and the Polisario can achieve a solution to the conflict.
Despite the reluctance, Morocco has been consistently calling on Algeria to assume its responsibility in the dispute.
UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2703 passed in October 2023, have repeatedly outlined Algeria’s role, detailing that the Algerian regime is one of the main parties involved in the dispute.
This has challenged Algeria’s attempts to disassociate itself from their responsibility.
