Sahara : Fearing support for Morocco, the Polisario mobilizes British MPs

Fearing potential UK support for the Moroccan autonomy plan in Western Sahara, Labor Party MPs have intensified their inquiries, addressing written questions to their government on the topic.

Navendu Mishra, a Labor MP and member of the Polisario friendship group, in a written question addressed to the Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, asked «what information his Department holds on the number of Moroccan and Saharawi soldiers that have died since the Moroccan military incursion into Guerguerat».

Executive Sunak clarified that the Department of Foreign Affairs «does not hold such records». «However, we continue to monitor the situation in Western Sahara including through our engagements with the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and our international partners», it emphasized.

Mishra's question echoes similar inquiries from colleague Kim Johnson, also from the Labor Party, focusing on the number of «allegations of human rights abuses have been made to the Moroccan National Human Rights Council in Western Sahara».

David Rutley, Undersecretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, affirmed the «UK Government is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, including in Morocco and Western Sahara, and we raise human rights issues with the Moroccan Government accordingly». «We also engage on these issues at the UN and have consistently supported language in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions which encourages the parties to continue their efforts to enhance the promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara», he added.

This mobilization of pro-Polisario representatives in the House of Commons comes in response to recent calls by Conservative MPs Liam Fox and Daniel Kawczynski urging the UK to recognize the Moroccan nature of the Sahara. Kawczynski's recent visit to Dakhla further amplified this stance, while the think tank RUSI advocated for support for the Moroccan autonomy plan.

For the record, the London Court of Appeal upheld a previous ruling rejecting a challenge to the UK-Morocco trade agreement, effectively recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.