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Rabat – Omar Hilale, Morocco’s permanent ambassador to the UN, has again highlighted how Algeria’s regime has been using the separatist Polisario group as a political tool to challenge Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara.
The Moroccan ambassador made his remarks during a regional seminar for the Pacific at the UN Special Committee on Decolonization (C24) on Wednesday, denouncing Algeria’s tactics of obstruction to the resolution of the regional dispute and its destabilizing strategy in the Maghreb and beyond.
“Despite Morocco’s commitments and the UN’s sustained efforts, the political process to resolve this regional dispute continues to be hindered by Algeria’s delaying tactics,” Hilale said, recalling Algeria’s repeated attempts to obfuscate its role in the Western Sahara dispute.
Hilale said Algiers plays a central role in the conflict, recalling that the Algerian regime hosts, arms, funds, and diplomatically supports the separatist group Polisario.
Shedding light on the ongoing momentum Morocco secured for its national cause, Hilale stressed how the international community made its stance clear, highlighting the ongoing withdrawal of recognition of the self-styled SADR.
According to Hilale, over 116 countries globally expressed explicit support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, while 30 nations opened consulates in Laayoune and Dakhla, reflecting their recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces.
Stressing that Polisario was the creation of Algeria, Hilale recalled how their referendum on self-determination has become a ruled out and an outdated option as confirmed by the UN Security Council and its resolutions.
He stressed that the UN Secretary General concluded in his report of February 17, 2000, that an “orderly and consensual implementation of the Settlement Plan” was not feasible. Since then, Hilale continued, the UN Security Council has focused on a mutually acceptable political solution based on compromise.
“These developments paved the way for the emergence of the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative as the only foundation for a lasting and lawful solution,” he said, noting that the Sahara is Moroccan by history, by law, and by the free expression of its people.”
Hilale also called on other parties to acknowledge this and to engage in discussions and work to build a future of peace, stability, and cooperation for the region and the whole continent.
Despite UN Security Council resolutions, Algeria continues to block the UN-led political process, shirking its responsibility as one of the four main parties to the dispute.
The country continues to deny its significant and direct role in the dispute, claiming that it is Morocco and Polisario that should engage in talks to find a political solution to end the dispute.
This Algerian policy is further exacerbated by an international campaign and lobbying efforts, with Algerian officials and activists seizing every opportunity to voice their anti-Morocco rhetoric and challenge Morocco’s territorial integrity.
Resolution 2703 of October 2024 stressed Algeria’s role in the Sahara dispute, detailing how the Algerian regime is one of the main parties in the dispute.
Notably, the resolution challenged Algeria’s longtime attempt to deny its full-fledged involvement by claiming to be merely an observer and “a concerned neighbor.”
The resolution called “upon Morocco, the Frente POLISARIO, Algeria, and Mauritania to cooperate more fully with each other, including through building additional trust, and with the United Nations, as well as to strengthen their involvement in the political process and to achieve progress towards a political solution.”
