Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Omar Hilale, denounced Algeria’s hijacking of UN sessions to push for its anti-Morocco agenda.
In a letter addressed to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Hilale responded to what he described as Algeria’s “provocative, false, and misleading” remarks during a Security Council session, MAP reported.
Hilale’s letter came after Algeria’s Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lounes Magramane raised the issue of the Moroccan Sahara during a Council debate on the broader topic of “Maintaining International Peace and Security: Addressing Historical Injustice and Strengthening Africa’s Effective Representation on the Security Council.”
The Moroccan diplomat criticized the Algerian representative for bringing up the Sahara issue, which was not on the agenda of the session, and for prioritizing Algeria’s “anti-Moroccan agenda” over Africa’s interests.
“Clearly, his country is more preoccupied with its anti-Moroccan sentiment and its morbid obsession with the Moroccan Sahara,” Hilale wrote in the letter.
He denounced Algeria for hijacking discussions meant to address Africa’s underrepresentation on the Security Council, calling the statement “completely out of context.”
Hilale further slammed Algeria for its well-documented pattern of undermining Morocco’s territorial integrity and a continued “obsession” with the Moroccan Sahara.
The ambassador emphasized that the issue is one of national unity and territorial integrity for Morocco, rejecting Algeria’s characterization of the situation as a the so-called decolonization issue.
“The question of the Moroccan Sahara is a matter of territorial integrity and national unity for the Kingdom of Morocco,” Hilale stated, adding that “neither history, nor international law, nor the UN Secretary-General’s reports, nor the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, nor Security Council resolutions designate the Moroccan Sahara as a ‘colonized territory.’”
In his letter, Hilale also highlighted Morocco’s development efforts in the region, dismissing claims by the Algerian representative regarding the exploitation of natural resources.
He pointed out that Morocco has invested over $8 billion in developing its southern provinces, transforming the area into a regional hub for investment and economic growth.
“The region has been transformed, becoming an attractive destination for foreign investments, allowing it to achieve the highest development indices in the Kingdom,” Hilale noted.
He contrasted this with Algeria’s use of oil and gas revenues to fund groups such as the Polisario Front, rather than investing in its own people.
Hilale also accused Algeria of applying double standards when it comes to the principle of self-determination. While Algeria has called for self-determination for the Sahrawi people in Moroccan Sahara, Hilale noted that the country denies similar rights to its own Kabyle population.
The official pointed out that over seven million people in the Kabyle region face marginalization, persecution, and daily human rights violations.
“The brave Kabyle people deserve that the United Nations ensure their right to freely decide their future and exercise their right to self-determination,” Hilale argued.
The letter concludes with a call for Algeria to shift its focus toward representing Africa’s interests on the Security Council, rather than pursuing its national agenda against Morocco.