Western Sahara automony plan gains momentum

As the Western Sahara dispute nears the 50-year mark, there appears to be a push to end the lengthy conflict, with a growing number of Western countries backing the Morocco autonomy plan, the latest being the UK, notes Legalbrief. According to The Guardian, the UK has thrown its weight behind Morocco’s proposal, marking a shift in Britain’s position on one of Africa’s longest-running territorial disputes. Speaking during a visit to Rabat yesterday, Foreign Secretary, David Lammy said Britain considered Morocco’s 2007 autonomy proposal ‘the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis’ for resolving the dispute. The UK has previously said the status of the disputed territory in north-west Africa remains ‘undetermined’, while supporting ‘self-determination’ for ‘the people of Western Sahara’. The disputed region has a population of about 600 000 people, and is considered a non-self-governing territory by the UN. While Morocco controls most of the territory, the Algerian-backed Polisario Front controls land in the east of the territory and wants full independence from Rabat. Under Morocco’s autonomy plan, Western Sahara would remain under Rabat’s sovereignty but with a degree of self-rule.

The US recognised Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara in 2020 during US President Donald Trump’s first administration. France followed suit last year, along with Spain in 2021. ‘The UK will continue to act bilaterally, including economically, regionally and internationally in line with this position to support the resolution of the conflict,’ Lammy said after talks with his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita. The region has been contested since 1975, when Spain withdrew from its former colony, sparking a conflict between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front. A UN-brokered ceasefire was reached in 1991, with promises of a referendum on the territory’s future that has never materialised, reports The Guardian. Talks have since stalled, and in 2020 the Polisario declared the truce over, accusing Morocco of violating its terms. Algeria, a key regional player, has previously criticised Rabat’s plan and US support for the proposals. Bourita described the UK’s endorsement as part of ‘a momentum to speed up the solution of the conflict’. He said British investments in Western Sahara were under discussion. The two countries also signed cooperation deals on healthcare, innovation, ports, water infrastructure and procurement. Lammy said the partnerships would allow 'British businesses to score big on football’s biggest stage’, a reference to Morocco’s preparations to co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal. The UN still officially supports a negotiated solution that would allow the people of Western Sahara to decide whether to become independent or remain part of Morocco.

Full report in The Guardian

Rabat's push for support for its autonomy plan has seen success, reports France24. Mineral-rich Western Sahara is largely controlled by Morocco but has been claimed in its entirety for decades by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which is backed by Algeria. Morocco has been campaigning for broad support for its autonomy plan after obtaining US recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed territory in 2020, in exchange for the normalisation of diplomatic relations with Israel. But Algeria, which cut diplomatic relations with Rabat in 2021, said it ‘regrets’ Britain's decision on Sunday to support Morocco's autonomy plan. ‘In 18 years of existence, this plan has never been submitted to the Sahrawis as a basis for negotiation, nor has it ever been taken seriously by the successive UN envoys,’ the Algerian Foreign Ministry said. The UN considers Western Sahara a ‘non-self-governing territory’ and has had a peacekeeping mission there since 1991, whose stated aim is to organise a referendum on the territory's future. However, Rabat has repeatedly ruled out any vote where independence was an option, instead proposing an autonomy plan. ‘This year is a vital window of opportunity to secure a resolution before we reach 50 years of the dispute in November,’ Lammy said.

Full France24 report

Since 2020, after the UN backed ceasefire, fighting has resumed, with artillery and drone strikes reported on both sides of a fortified sand wall – known as the berm – erected by Morocco. Human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about Morocco’s crackdown on pro-independence Sahrawis in areas it controls, according to Middle East Eye. Algeria, a staunch supporter of Sahrawi independence, hosts the Polisario leadership and around 176 000 Sahrawi refugees in camps near Tindouf. Algiers has sharply criticised Western support for Morocco’s plan. After France endorsed the autonomy initiative last year, Algerian officials accused Paris of backing ‘a colonial fait accompli’ and undermining UN efforts to decolonise the region. African News reports that since then diplomatic relations between France and Algeria have reached a new low. Algeria recently expelled 15 French diplomatic agents, intensifying an already volatile situation marked by mutual distrust and retaliatory measures, also linked to human rights issues. Algeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the French chargé d'affaires in Algiers to inform him that 15 French officials were being expelled for holding ‘irregular positions.’ This move follows a series of escalating actions between the two nations, including previous expulsions of diplomats on both sides.

Full Africa News report

Full Report in Middle East Eye