On 29 October, the UN Security Council will vote on the UN mission in Western Sahara’s renewal. Following last year’s resumption of hostilities and the appointment of a new envoy, Council members should signal their commitment to relaunching negotiations and an even-handed approach to the conflict.
Originally published in World Politics Review
Morocco continued to secure greater international support for its Western Sahara autonomy plan. Polisario Front independence movement representative to Spain, Abdullah Arabi, 7 May called on Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez to “rectify” position on Western Sahara, claiming Madrid’s endorsement in March of Rabat’s autonomy plan for disputed territory leads Spain “away from international legality”. Meanwhile, Rabat and Madrid continued to mend ties, notably reopening land borders between Morocco and Spain’s enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla mid-May. Dutch govt 11 May expressed support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, calling it “serious and credible contribution” to the UN-led political process to resolve Western Sahara dispute. Turkish govt also 11 May stated support for Morocco’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity”; next day, however, said support only extends to “internationally recognised borders”.
The fighting in Western Sahara, which broke out again in November 2020, remains of low intensity. Yet outside powers would be wrong to assume that it will not escalate. With U.S. support, the new UN envoy should pursue confidence-building measures that could facilitate negotiations.
Clashes have broken out in Western Sahara, ending a 30-year ceasefire between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front. Fighting could intensify absent outside help. The UN should fill its empty special envoy post, while the U.S. leads international efforts to restart diplomacy.
The Western Sahara conflict is both one of the world’s oldest and one of its most neglected.
The combination of Morocco’s recent proposal of a “Sahara autonomous region”, the Polisario Front’s counter-proposal of independence with guarantees for Moroccan interests and the UN Security Council’s 30 April resolution calling for direct negotiations between the parties – due to begin on 18 June – has been hailed as a promising breakthrough in the protracted Western Sahara dispute.
In the long term, the [Western Sahara] independence movement's diplomatic margin of maneuver is getting ever more narrow.
[The US recognition of Rabat’s claim to Western Sahara] will make Sahrawi youths more angry, mobilised and committed to resolving the conflict through force.
This week on Hold Your Fire!, Rob Malley and guest host Richard Atwood talk with Dahlia Scheindlin and Crisis Group’s North Africa Project Director Riccardo Fabiani about the normalisation of relations between Israel and Morocco and the accompanying U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, have long been run by the Polisario movement, which seeks an independent state in Western Sahara, also claimed by Morocco. But a new generation of Sahrawi refugees is growing fractious as aid dwindles and diplomatic efforts fail to deliver a settlement.
Originally published in Al Hayat
Originally published in The Wall Street Journal Europe
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Review our privacy policy for more details.