Morocco rekindles support for Kabyle people at UN, criticizes Algeria

During the recent UN Committee of 24 meeting in Caracas (May 14-16), Morocco raised the issue of Kabyle self-determination from Algeria. Ambassador Omar Hilale confronted his Algerian counterpart, Amar Bendjama, arguing that «The Kabyle people in Algeria have been waiting for over 150 years to exercise their right to self-determination. They are repressed, imprisoned, and denied their fundamental rights».

Morocco has previously advocated for the Kabyles at the UN, notably in October 2015 and twice in 2022. This support came despite internal criticism in Morocco, and long before Algeria allowed the separatist Rif Nationalist Party to open a representation office in Algiers last March.

Omar Hilale's renewed plea for the Kabyles comes nearly a month after the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK) proclaimed the «Kabyle State» on April 20 in New York. A few weeks earlier, MAK president Ferhat Mehenni had requested Morocco’s support, sending a letter to King Mohammed VI. «We inform you of a historic event scheduled for April 20: the rebirth of the State of Kabylie», Mehenni wrote, detailing the alleged abuses by Algerian authorities against the Kabyle population. He also expressed a desire for «exceptional relations» with Morocco.

This reaffirmed Moroccan support follows the MAK's accession to the Organization of Unrepresented Nations and Peoples on May 12 in Munich, alongside Catalan and Basque representatives.