Morocco denounced,on Tuesday before the UN Committee of 24 (C-24),the obstinacy and intransigence of Algeria,which is holding the Sahara political process hostage to the detriment of regional stability.
“The political process conducted under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General,facilitated by his Personal Envoy,and supported by all United Nations Member States,cannot remain held hostage by the obstinacy and intransigence of a single country,at the expense of regional stability,” stressed Morocco’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN,Majda Moutchou,during the C-24 regular session,held in New York from June 9 to 20.
The Moroccan diplomat affirmed that this is the conclusion reached by the international community,as well as the majority of the permanent Members of the Security Council,adding that it is regrettable that certain parties continue to politically exploit the issue of the Moroccan Sahara to serve interests that have nothing to do with the principles of the right to self-determination.
“A neighboring country,the main party to this regional dispute,which proclaims itself to be a defender of the right to self-determination,has for decades blocked any realistic and constructive solution by manipulating the principles of the United Nations Charter for political and hegemonic purposes,” she said.
She added that this same country,quick to speak out on the Moroccan Sahara and to mobilize substantial diplomatic and financial resources to fuel division and separatism,nevertheless maintains a deafening silence on the other situations on the Committee’s agenda.
“This selective attitude speaks volumes about its true motivations and demonstrates a clear desire to divert the UN political process from its objective,for the sake of a strategy of regional instability,” added the diplomat.
Morocco’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN also highlighted the positive international momentum toward a realistic,pragmatic,and lasting political solution,based on compromise,to the regional dispute,noting that this momentum is crystallizing around the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative.
This initiative,welcomed by the UN Security Council since its submission to the Secretary-General in 2007,is recognized as a concrete response to the expectations of the international community,fully in line with the spirit of the relevant UN resolutions,she emphasized,recalling that today,this initiative is supported by more than 118 countries across all regions of the world,including the former colonial power in the region,as well as three permanent Members of the Security Council,namely the USA,France,and the UK.
The speaker also noted a fundamental contradiction in the discussions within the C-24,which continue to wrongly confine the Sahara issue to a matter of decolonization. “This reflects neither the historical reality on the ground,nor the evolution of the issue within the Security Council,nor the majority opinion of the international community,including the many countries that have expressed their views before this Committee on this issue,” she explained.
The diplomat emphasized that the C-24,responsible for implementing Resolution 1514 adopted on December 14,1960,by the United Nations General Assembly,has a duty to take into account the evolution of international law concepts and instruments,adding that it cannot efficiently implement its mandate by ignoring the mechanisms for implementing the said resolution,identified and approved by United Nations Member States,particularly in Resolution 1541,adopted on December 15,by the same Assembly.
“It is imperative to recall that Resolution 1541,often deliberately omitted in this debate,specifies that autonomy is a means of implementing the right to self-determination,” the diplomat added,noting that contrary to the narrow ideological narratives advocated by a handful of countries,this right is not reduced to systematic independence. It can be exercised,according to international law itself,through a status of internal autonomy within a broader State framework,she said.
The diplomat explained that this realistic approach is precisely the one proposed by the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative,which offers a framework for advanced autonomy,while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco.
This approach is,moreover,clearly supported by the populations of the Moroccan Sahara,through their broad participation in all national,regional,and local elections,as well as through their commitment to the economic,social,and cultural development of their region,Majda Moutchou emphasized,noting that this participation is a direct expression of their adherence to the Moroccan institutional framework and must be recognized as such by this body.
In this context,she urged this Committee to follow the path outlined by the members of the Security Council,recognizing the clear and consensual direction taken by the international community,and supporting a realistic approach based on autonomy.
“The time has come for the C-24 to adopt a courageous stance on the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative,in accordance with United Nations principles. A political solution to this dispute can only emerge within this framework,and not through a distorted and instrumentalized interpretation of the right to self-determination,” the Moroccan diplomat concluded.
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