UN Envoy’s Sahara Partition Plan Sparks Moroccan Diplomatic Backlash

At a press conference with his Estonian counterpart, Margus Tsahkna, Nasser Bourita rejected the proposal to partition the Moroccan Sahara presented by Staffan de Mistura. A proposal that the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy had reiterated during his meeting, last April, with the Moroccan delegation and that one of his predecessors, James Baker, had presented in 2002. Morocco "would not negotiate its Sahara, nor its sovereignty over its Southern Provinces. This is the answer that was given to James Baker when he had formulated this idea on behalf of Algeria," said the head of Moroccan diplomacy, asking de Mistura if the proposal for the "partition of the Sahara" came from himself or other parties. According to him, de Mistura betrayed his duty of neutrality and seriously undermined his mission as a mediator.

This proposal by the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy is far from unanimous. "I cannot qualify Staffan de Mistura’s idea as a proposal," Farhan Haq, UN spokesperson, told Reuters. The EU spokesperson agrees. "Any solution to the Sahara issue should be serious, fair, realistic, sustainable and mutually acceptable to the two parties on the basis of Security Council resolutions," he told the Europa Press agency. Stressing the importance of preserving regional stability for the European Union, the EU spokesperson noted that de Mistura’s proposal could further fuel tension and unrest in the region.
The European position joins that of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. "The absence of a full ceasefire was a setback in the search for a political solution to this conflict that threatens stability in the region," he said in his recommendations to the Security Council.

Moreover, Nasser Bourita responded to de Mistura’s call to provide more details on the autonomy initiative. "The autonomy plan is an end, not the beginning of a negotiation. We will provide the necessary clarifications when the parties concerned express their desire to negotiate on the basis of this initiative, within the framework of the red lines that cannot be crossed," he said.