A new draft report on the Western Sahara conflict has been submitted to the Security Council by the UN Secretary-General this week. The report was quoted differently by Moroccan and pro-Polisario news platforms.
In a report on the two round-table talks that brought Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario together in Geneva, the Un Secretary-General referred to «the lack of trust on all sides». To Antonio Guterres, building trust between the parties involved in the conflict would lead to a solution.
After snubbing Pretoria’s solidarity conference, SADC member states that attended Morocco’s parallel meeting on Western Sahara defended their choice. The two meetings made some of the organization’s leaders question SADC’s unity.
The chairperson of the African National Congress, a ruling party in South Africa, criticized Morocco for hosting a parallel conference on the same day SADC was organizing a meeting to support the Polisario Front.
As Marrakech is hosting an African meeting on the Western Sahara conflict, Pretoria chairs a SADC conference to support the Polisario. Some African countries have decided to send delegations to both Morocco and South Africa, trying to please both parties.
In 1999, and months after he passed away, King Hassan II reached an agreement with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on the Western Sahara conflict, US Department of State document reveals.
Last year, Morocco reacted quickly to the comeback of John Bolton, named by Donald Trump as the 27th National Security Advisor of the United States. Since the former diplomat took office, the Kingdom made significant moves against Iran, supported Venezuela and repatriated nationals detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces.
The United States was interested in the Western Sahara conflict in the 1990s and the beginning of 2000s, according to a declassified document, submitted in 2009 by Morocco’s ambassador to Washington. The latter has conducted a series of actions to convince the Kingdom into abandoning the referendum and drafting an autonomy plan.