Morocco said that its autonomy plan in the Sahara region remains the sole and unique solution that aligns with its national sovereignty with no other alternative, during the 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 78).
The ambassador and permanent representative of Morocco to the United Nations, Omar Hilale said that the country’s commitment will “contribute to enhancing development, stability, and peace in the region and the African continent.”
Hilale added that Morocco supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to relaunch the roundtable talks in the same format and with the same participants, especially Algeria, in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2602.
Morocco reaffirms that the final solution should only be political, realistic, and practical, based on consensus.
Hilale highlighted the international support Morocco’s plan has garnered with more than a 100 countries from all around the world supporting the Moroccan initiative for autonomy. And around 32 countries and regional organizations have opened consulates in the cities of Laayoune and Dakhla, thereby reaffirming their full support for the Moroccan Sahara.
Hilale’s speech noted that Morocco has invested $12 billion in the development of its southern regions, and they’ve made immense progress, completing 81% of their planned projects.
These initiatives are boosting the region’s economy and making it a key trading hub between Africa and the rest of the world. The United Nations’ Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, witnessed these achievements firsthand during his recent visit to Laayoune and Dakhla in the Sahara.
Morocco voiced its concerns regarding the terrible humanitarian conditions in the Tindouf camps. In these camps, Algeria, the country hosting them, has illegally given power to an armed separatist group that is known to have connections to terrorist and criminal organizations, as confirmed and documented.
Hilale said that these unusual circumstances deserve the world’s attention, especially because Algeria has repeatedly refused to let the people in the Tindouf camps be registered and counted.
“This refusal goes against international laws and ignores calls from the UN Security Council since 2011,” Hilale concluded.