The African Union (AU) has reiterated its stance that the future of the Western Sahara must be determined through a referendum. This follows the signing of a US-brokered deal for Morocco to establish formal diplomatic ties with Israel in return for Washington recognising Rabat’s claim over the disputed Western Sahara region.
Ebba Kalondo, the spokesperson of AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat, tweeted, “The position of the African Union remains unchanged, in conformity with relevant AU and United Nations resolutions.”
Tensions between Morocco and the AU are a long-running theme in African politics. In fact, Morocco withdrew from the organisation in 1982 after the Organisation of African Unity (the AU’s precursor) gave full membership to the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Although Morocco re-entered the AU in 2017, these underlying disagreements continue.
In 1975, as African states continued the scramble to define their borders and after colonial power Spain withdrew from the region, Morocco claimed virtually 80% of the Western Sahara. However, the remaining area fell to the de-facto territory of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, whose national liberation movement is known as the Polisario Front.
Since then, the Sahrawis have been in a tense coexistence with Morocco. A United Nations (UN)-brokered ceasefire was established in 1991, with a path towards a referendum on the region’s future. However, this referendum was never set up, leaving the concerns of both sides unaddressed.
The Sahrawis, backed by Algeria, wish to formally establish their own fully self-governed, autonomous nation that is recognized by other international actors. While Morocco has offered to provide autonomy to the SADR, this deal has been rejected by the Sahrawis, who wish to attain full sovereignty.
For Morocco, the region represents a crucial economic foothold in terms of phosphate reserves, fisheries, and offshore oil. At the same time, the Guerguerat border crossing between the Western Sahara and Mauritania runs through a ‘buffer zone’ between Morocco and the SADR, demonstrating how the area also represents a crucial trade route to other African nations.
The conflict became violent again in November, after the Polisario Front broke a 29-year-old ceasefire to declare war on Morocco. Sahrawi forces had been blocking the Guerguerat pass, resulting in Morocco deploying a military operation to the region.
The importance of the Guerguerat pass is underscored by the fact that it is patrolled by UN personnel in order to ensure the maintenance of the ceasefire. The SADR, however, does not recognize it as a legitimate border crossing, with Polisario Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Salek saying, “It is not an international or even regional road. It is being used to loot the natural resources of the Sahrawi people.”
This past week, Morocco’s claim over the region gained a significant boost, with US President Donald Trump saying that Washington “recognises [Rabat’s] sovereignty over the Western Sahara”.
The Trump administration’s decision has drawn criticism from both within and outside the US. For instance, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), said, “I am concerned this announcement upends a credible, internationally supported U.N. process to address the territorial dispute over Western Sahara,” adding, “Casting aside legitimate multilateral avenues of conflict resolution only empowers countries like Russia and China to continue trampling on international rules and norms and rewards those who violate borders and the rights of free people.” Even certain Republicans, such as Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), have lambasted Trump for “trading away” the “rights of the Western Saharan people”.
Likewise, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad denounced the “foreign manoeuvres” to ‘destabilise’ the region at large, adding, “There is now a desire by the Zionist entity to come closer to our border.” Algiers’ foreign ministry added that the US’ recognition ““has no legal effect because it contradicts U.N. resolutions, especially U.N. Security Council resolutions on Western Sahara,” but warned, “The proclamation would undermine the de-escalation efforts made at all levels in order to pave the way for launching a real political process.”
Similarly, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement saying, “By this decision, the Donald Trump administration aims to undermine the universally recognized international legal groundwork of the Western Sahara settlement, which stipulates the determination of the final status of that area through a referendum. This new position of the United States could dramatically impede UN efforts to promote the Settlement Plan for Western Sahara and to exacerbate the relations between the directly involved parties and to provoke a new spiral of armed confrontation in the Sahara-Sahel region.”
Turkey, too, has opposed the latest deal, standing in solidarity with the Polisario Front.
Interestingly, although the AU has backed calls for a referendum, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also the chairman of the AU, “disavowed the Algeria-backed Polisario Front”. Hence, there appears to be a lack of clarity and unity even among the parties who do support Western Saharan independence or at least the right of the Sahrawis to determine their own path.
African Union Calls for Referendum on Western Sahara’s Future Despite US-Morocco Deal
Washington offered recognition of Rabat’s sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara region. In return, Morocco established formal diplomatic ties with Israel.
December 15, 2020
IMAGE SOURCE: EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGESAfrican Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat