Ghana Suspends Diplomatic Ties with Western Sahara’s SADR

Ghana "has decided to immediately inform, through diplomatic channels, the government of Morocco, the African Union and the United Nations of this position," says the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a note, recalling that the Ghanaian authorities had announced this decision in an official statement in which they expressed their support for the "good faith efforts of the Kingdom of Morocco to reach a solution accepted by all parties." The Moroccan authorities specify that "thanks to the impetus given to the Moroccan Sahara issue" by King Mohammed VI, 46 countries, including thirteen Africans, have already suspended their relations with the SADR since 2000.

Reacting to this decision by Ghana, Sidi Mohamed Omar, the Polisario Front’s representative to the United Nations, said that the peace process in Western Sahara is suffering from "total paralysis due to the position of the occupying Moroccan state, which refuses to move towards a solution," and that of certain members of the UN Security Council such as France and the United States, informs the official Sahrawi press agency, SPS.

Currently, the self-proclaimed "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" proclaimed on February 27, 1976 maintains diplomatic relations with 82 African and Latin American countries. Morocco and the Polisario have been claiming the Sahara for about fifty years. The kingdom proposes an autonomy plan for this territory, while the Sahrawi independence movement demands a self-determination referendum. Several countries such as France, Spain, Germany and Israel support the Moroccan proposal, which is considered the most credible to end the conflict.