Moroccan Envoy Rebukes Algerian Official Over Western Sahara Comments at UNESCO Meeting

In his intervention, the Algerian delegate declared: "in the framework of the non-politicization of this organization, I would like to intervene. It has been mentioned several times in the last presentation the southern territories, including Dakhla. The territories of Western Sahara are non-self-governing territories where the decolonization process has not been fully completed. The Intergovernmental Committee on Heritage under the 2003 Convention and UNESCO, which is an organization under the United Nations system, must continue to respect international law and legitimacy."

"It’s a shame that I have to mention Algeria’s intervention, which spoke of non-politicization. I don’t know who politicized the debate if it wasn’t Algeria unfortunately once again," reacted Samir Addahre, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Morocco to UNESCO, chair of the session.

The diplomat also mentioned Algeria’s hatred, which is reflected in all its international positions. "This makes me smile because the Algerian obsession means that you hear badly what we are saying. First, the Sahara is Moroccan territory. Secondly, we did not talk about Dakhla but about Tata. Your obsession makes you plug your ears. The two sites we mentioned are Tata and Guelmim," he rectified.

"Dakhla is an integral part of Moroccan territory, whether you like it or not, there is a UN process, you are asked to get out and let the United Nations do their job. You are disrupting, maneuvering for 50 years on this file to the detriment of regional integration and the well-being of the peoples of the region. You are out of touch. We are not even talking about politics, we are talking about intangible cultural heritage and you allow yourself to intervene again on issues related to the territorial integrity of Morocco [...] ", he concluded.