Morocco’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, has stated in New York that Algeria’s proposal to partition the Sahara “reflects its habitual response to diplomatic setbacks,” Morocco’s News Agency (MAP) reported on Sunday.
During a press briefing following the Security Council’s adoption of a resolution on the Sahara, Hilale addressed the controversy surrounding Algeria’s partition proposal, which was presented by personal envoy Staffan de Mistura during closed consultations on October 16, 2024.
Hilale identified three key points to clarify Morocco’s position and address what he termed Algeria’s “stillborn” proposal. He revealed that neither former personal envoy James Baker nor de Mistura originated the idea of partition; rather, they served as conveyors of Algeria’s position.
The ambassador referenced the proposal’s history, citing its initial suggestion by the late Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on November 2, 2001, during a meeting with Baker in Houston. Morocco’s envoy also referenced a letter from the former Algerian Permanent Ambassador to New York, Abdellah Baali, to the Security Council President dated July 22, 2002, in which the proposal was reaffirmed.
Over twenty-two years later, the same partition proposal was presented to de Mistura during his recent visit to Algeria.
Regarding Algeria’s rationale behind the 2001 and 2024 partition proposals, Hilale traced the origins to the regional and international context surrounding the evolution of the Sahara issue. He explained that Algeria “resorts to the partition proposal whenever it faces diplomatic pressure, attempting to avoid scrutiny as a key party in the regional dispute.”
In 2001, the partition proposal emerged after a February 17, 2000, UN report declared the settlement plan “unfeasible,” undermining the referendum that Algeria had favored.
“Algeria faced renewed diplomatic challenges due to Security Council resolutions urging roundtable discussions, along with the U.S. and France’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara and international support for Morocco’s autonomy plan, signified by around 30 consulates opening in Laayoune and Dakhla,” according to the diplomat.
The diplomat reiterated the clear response of Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita regarding the proposal, “Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara and its territorial integrity have never been up for negotiation.”
He asserted that the return of the Sahara to Morocco is irrevocable and urged Algeria and the Personal Envoy to recall that 35 million Moroccans pledged allegiance to the Green March and that Sahrawi tribal leaders declared allegiance to Moroccan sovereignty.
The representative concluded by commending the sacrifices of the Royal Armed Forces in defending and preserving the Sahara as part of the motherland. “For all of these reasons, Morocco rejects any division, even the smallest grain of sand, of its territory.”