The political dynamic brought about by the Moroccan Initiative
1. Noting the inapplicability of the Settlement Plan and the lack of agreement between the parties on the implementation of Baker plans I (2001) and II (2003), the Security Council has continuously, since 2004, called upon the parties to « put an end to the impasse and move towards a final political solution mutually accepted » to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. The Council, therefore, asked the parties to initiate and promote a political solution of compromise.
2. In response to this, the Kingdom of Morocco submitted an autonomy initiative, that is substantial, innovative and in accordance with international law.
3. Since its launching, this proposal of compromise has received support from many countries, and created a new dynamic within the Security Council, which described the efforts which underlie it as « serious and credible ». It paved the way for the desired initiation of negotiations (4 rounds of formal negotiations and nine informal meetings so far).
4. The different resolutions adopted by the Security Council have progressively backed the Moroccan approach and gave pre-eminence to the Moroccan autonomy initiative. They also stressed the importance of “the realism and the spirit of compromise, » two fundamental qualities of the Initiative, and called for intensive and substantial negotiations on this basis.
The blocking and diversion strategy conducted by the other parties.
1. On the other hand, the position of Algeria and the polisario continues to be based on a biased and oriented understanding of the self-determination principle and on a philosophy that is in contrast with the orientation given by the Security Council and wished by the international community to solve this regional dispute.
2. In parallel with the inaction policy and obstruction tactics in negotiations, Algeria and polisario have multiplied attempts to derail the process, through a systematic instrumentalization of human rights issue.
3. In this context, the other parties spare no efforts to delay reaching a realistic solution of compromise to this dispute. They make of the instrumentalization of human rights, their strategic tool to « suffocate » the political negotiation process and to torpedo the positive momentum created by the Moroccan autonomy initiative.
4. Therefore, exploiting the climate of political openness and the expansion of freedom space in the Kingdom, the other parties have conducted diversion manoeuvres, manipulation actions and provocative acts, cynically brandishing the human rights banner and « firing on all cylinders ».
5. These recurring acts, deliberately provocative and flashy, aim, in fact, at concealing the refusal of the other parties to engage in substantive negotiations. They also contribute to maintaining the status quo that brings about political tensions and security risks, in the region.
6. These acts reached a new and extremely worrying threshold in the case of Gdeim Izik camp (Cf. to the note on this event).
7. In this context, the other parties, with the support of some political, associative and media circles, resorted to misinformation and manipulation through distorting reality, in an attempt to influence the international public opinion.
The necessity to preserve the negotiation process
1. The Kingdom of Morocco remains committed to continue negotiations and reaffirms its political will to move towards a political solution of compromise.
2. The other parties should abandon their blocking position as well as their diversion strategies and engage resolutely and in good faith in the process of seeking a realistic and feasible solution that will bring peace, stability and prosperity to the Maghreb region.
3. The International community members should support the dynamic of negotiations and denounce Algeria’s and polisario’s widely known strategy of countering the current political dynamic and harming the negotiation process.
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