Publication of a Manifesto signed by 3.000 journalists, academics, lawyers and civil society actors, members of the International Platform for Defense and Support for the Moroccan Sahara

Around three thousand journalists, academics, lawyers and civil society actors, members of the International Platform for Defense and Support for the Moroccan Sahara, published on Monday January 25, 2021, a Manifesto in which they welcome “the historic decision of the United States of America to fully recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara” and reaffirm” their full support to the Autonomy Initiative for the Moroccan Sahara region, as the one and only solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara ”.

Thus, the Manifesto welcomes “the continuous dynamic of the openings of the Consulates General by several countries in Laâyoune and Dakhla, consolidating, hence, the position of the southern Moroccan Provinces as a regional and continental economic hub”.

The 3,000 members of this Platform, which is an independent structure, are from 155 countries. They denounce in their founding document “the Algeria’s actions taken since 1975, that aim at undermining the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco, in violation of the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United-Nations and the Declaration on the international law on friendly relations between States, borne by General Assembly resolution 2625”.

Here is the text of the Manifesto signed by 3000 members of the International Platform for Defense and Support for the Moroccan Sahara:

Manifesto of the 3,000 members of the International Platform for Defense and Support for the Moroccan Sahara

We, journalists, academics, lawyers and civil society actors, members of the International Platform for Defense and Support for the Moroccan Sahara,

1. Warmly welcome the historic decision of the United States to fully recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara.
2. Welcome even more the fact that this decision emanates a democratic world power, a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council and a guarantor of a world order based on international law.
3. Underline that such a position is the only one that is in line with the international law, taking into consideration that the Morocanity of the Sahara is attested at the historical and the legal levels and starting from the fundamental norm of the territorial integrity of States.
4. Welcome the positive impact of the American decision of opening a Consulate General in Dakhla aiming at promoting investment in the region.
5. Welcome with satisfaction the outcome adopted during the virtual Ministerial Conference, co-organized by Morocco and the United States, on January 15, 2021, in which some 40 countries participated, to support the Initiative of Autonomy under Moroccan Sovereignty, as the only option to definitively resolve this regional dispute.
6. Assert our full support to the Initiative for the Negotiation of a Statute of Autonomy for the Moroccan Sahara Region, as the one and only solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.
7. Reaffirm in this regard that the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative is the only solution that can guarantee the exercise of the right to self-determination of the population of the Moroccan Sahara.
8. Denounce :

• Algeria’s actions, since 1975, that aim at undermining the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco, in violation of the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration on the Principles of International Law on Friendly Relations between States, borne by General Assembly resolution 2625;
• The arming of the “polisario” by Algeria, which constitutes a serious violation of the Charter of the United Nations and International Law;
• The diversion, by Algeria and the “polisario”, of the humanitarian aid intended to reach the populations held captive in Tindouf camps;
• Fundamental Human Rights violations, committed in Tindouf camps, as a result of the illegal delegation, by Algeria, of the authority over this part of Algerian territory to an armed separatist group, in flagrant violation of International Humanitarian Law;
• The enlistment of child soldiers by the “polisario”, supported by Algeria, in violation of the Convention on the Rights of Children;
• The diversion of humanitarian aid intended for the populations of Tindouf camps, facilitated by the refusal of Algeria to allow a census of these populations;

9. Therefore, require that Algeria respect its obligations under International Humanitarian Law and put an end to the situation of absence of law that prevails in the Tindouf camps, following the illegal delegation of authority over the camps to the “polisario”, a situation that allows the occurrence of the worst Human Rights violations in this part of the Algerian territory.
10. Welcome the continuous dynamic of the openings of the Consulates General by several countries in Laayoune and Dakhla, consolidating, hence, the position of the southern Moroccan provinces as a regional and a continental economic hub.
11. Call on the entire international community, represented by the Security Council, to support the search for a realistic, practicable, and enduring political solution, that rests on compromise to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, on a single and the exclusive basis of the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative.
12. Remain committed to defending the Morocanity of the Sahara and the pre-eminence of the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative in academia, the media, and civil society in our respective countries.
13. Call on Algeria, as the main party to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, to abandon its dogmatic positions and to commit to continuing its participation in a spirit of realism and compromise in the UN Round Table process to ensure a successful outcome, based on the Moroccan Initiative of Autonomy.