Morocco’s permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Omar Hilal underscored the tenets of Moroccan diplomatic action on top of which a steadfast attachment to multilateralism in line with the UN charter, uncompromising on the Kingdom’s territorial integrity and neighborliness with Algeria.
Speaking at a lengthy and detailed interview with Jeune Afrique, Ambassador Hilale reiterated Morocco’s position in favor of settling the artificial dispute over the Sahara territory within Morocco’s territorial sovereignty and on the basis of the autonomy plan as part of the exclusive UN process.
He reiterated Morocco’s willingness to build an integrated Maghreb together with Algeria, recalling the call by Morocco’s King on Algeria to work together without pre-conditions to build bilateral ties based on trust, dialogue, and neighborliness.
“The wisdom of the King and his outstretched arm are in line with Article 2 of the UN charter that calls on member states to peacefully resolve international disputes,” he said.
He also urged Algeria to uphold its responsibility in blocking progress towards a political settlement of the Sahara issue on the basis of the autonomy plan.
In this respect, he deplored Algeria’s rejection of the UN Security Council resolutions and its reluctance to attend the UN-sponsored round-tables.
Hilale also reminded Algeria that the decolonization process in the Sahara territory was achieved with the end of Spanish colonialism, recalling that Morocco had listed the territory in 1963 in the UN’s decelonization committee, long before the creation of the Polisario by Algeria.
The Moroccan ambassador, who served in the beginning of his career as ambassador to Algiers, deplored the role played by Algeria to perpetuate this conflict to the detriment of innocent lives held against their will in the Polisario-run camps in Tindouf.
“Algeria should be aware that the retrieval of the Sahara is irreversible. Following half a century, it should come to terms and admit that its Polisario project has become a geopolitical fiasco and has become a financial and economic burden that is pushing it towards more diplomatic isolation,” Hilale told Jeune Afrique.
He made it clear that Morocco is uncompromising on its territorial integrity but seeks through its engagement with the UN process to reach a political solution to “a regional conflict maintained by Algeria for geopolitical considerations dating back to the era of the cold war.”
