[News] Western Sahara: UK Reaffirms Support UN-Led Political Process

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Rabat – The United Kingdom reaffirmed today its support for the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2602, welcoming Morocco's “serious” and “credible” efforts to resolve the conflict over the Western Sahara.

At the end of the third session of the Morocco-UK Strategic Dialogue, held between Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita and the British State of Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth, and Development Liz Truss, the UK stressed the “primary role” of the United Nations in the settlement process of the Sahara dispute.

Bourita and Truss also reaffirmed their countries’ shared interests for establishing a strategic bilateral partnership through strengthening political dialogue, deepening economic ties, security cooperation, and promoting human and cultural relations.

Welcoming the recent appointment of Staffan de Mistura as the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, they reiterated their full support for his efforts to find a solution to decades-old Sahara dispute.

The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2602 in October 2021, extending the mandate of the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara until October 2022 and reaffirming that a compromise-based political solution is the best way out of the Sahara conflict.

All UN resolutions adopted in the past decade call on parties to conflict to commit to the Un-led political process in accordance with a spirit of compromise, pragmatism, and political realism. 

This is in line with Morocco’s 2007 Autonomy Proposal, whose embrace of compromise and political feasibility has led to it being welcomed by the UN as a “serious” and “credible” step toward a sustainable political settlement in Western Sahara.   

Read also: British Ambassador: Brexit Is Good for UK-Morocco Special Friendship

Following the adoption of Resolution 2602, Bourita reiterated Morocco's commitment to working with the UN to achieve a sustainable and mutually agreed upon political solution to Western Sahara’s decades-long regional conflict. 

While the UK’s support for the UN-led political process does not amount to an unambiguous embrace of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, the country’s position on the Sahara conflict suggests a tacit support for the Moroccan position.

With an apparent determination on both sides to further deepen their bilateral relations in the aftermath of Brexit, Rabat’s hope is for London to follow in the US’ footsteps by recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over its territory. 

In August this year, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) used an undivided map of Morocco in its profile of the North African country. 

Naturally, the BBC’s adoption of an undivided map of Morocco sparked debates about an imminent recognition by the UK of Morocco’s sovereignty on Western Sahara. But experts say that while such a shift is indeed possible, it is not forthcoming.