Sahara dispute opposes Morocco to the Polisario Front that lays claim to Morocco's Southern Provinces known as the Sahara. The former Spanish colony was retrieved by the North African country in 1975 under Madrid Accords.

In a letter addressed to the UN secretary General, Kofi Annan, the Moroccan Foreign Affairs minister, Mohamed Benaissa underlined that these parties "should fulfil their obligations, refrain from entering into agreements or contracts involving the Territory and show the necessary political will by participating in the negotiations supported by the international community."

"Morocco is prepared to initiate negotiations without delay and will soon submit a proposal on autonomy to this end," confirmed Benaissa in this letter made public on Wednesday at the UN headquarters.

The minister called on the UN Secretary General to bring the present letter to the attention of the members of the Security Council and have it circulated as a document of the Security Council.

In this respect, Benaissa voiced Morocco’s hope to see the other parties join this common effort to end the dispute once and for all in the interest of the entire Maghreb region

The minister recalled that the objective of the ceasefire declared by the United Nations on 6 September 1991 with the agreement of all parties was a complete cessation of hostilities in the Territory in order to foster a lasting political settlement of this question.

The buffer strip maintained between the defensive wall and the border with Algeria was designed to mitigate the tensions between the two countries and to prevent any risk of escalation, said Benaissa, underlining that there was never any question of sanctioning a division of the Territory or legitimising the idea of “liberated territory”, as this is an uninhabited buffer strip.

The proof, he noted, is that the refugees registered on the basis of the Tindouf census are supposed to report to the area west of the wall, in the inhabited centers, in order to participate in any voting exercise.

In this connection, it should be recalled that both on the eve of the ceasefire and after it was in place, the kingdom of Morocco has, at every opportunity, drawn the attention of the United Nations, either in writing or through contacts with its officials, at all levels, to the fact that the status of this area as uninhabited buffer strip is being violated, recalled the minister. 

Hence, after the incursion of elements from the
Frente Polisario into the Tifariti area, the late king Hassan II immediately sent a letter, dated 3 September 1991 to Mr. Javier Perez de Guellar requesting him to take urgent measures to restore normalcy, particularly through the withdrawal of armed gangs from the territory, Benaissa went on.

The minister underlined that this position was successively reaffirmed in an aide-mémoire of 16 December 1991 addressed to the President of the Security Council, in a letter dated13 May 1992 from the permanent Representative of Morocco addressed to the Under Secretary General of the department of Peacekeeping Operations in a letter dated 23 August 1995 from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco addressed to Mr. Annan predecessor.

In 2000, the United Nations, having concluded that the referendum proposed in the 1990 settlement plan could not be carried out, embarked on the process of seeking an alternative political solution, he recalled, noting however, that the other parties to the dispute over Sahara, rather than engaging in a genuine negotiation process, are attempting to establish a fait accompli in the buffer strip by artificially constructing buildings, carrying on “diplomatic activities” there and even going so far as to sign prospecting contracts with oil companies.

“The Kingdom of Morocco wishes to bring to the attention of the United Nations the seriousness of such actions aimed at giving credence to the existence of a pseudo-republic of Sahara on territorial grounds,” the minister said, underlining that the kingdom “believes tat all these activities are completely illegal, as those perpetrating them are acting without authority.”

“As long as there is no definitive agreement on a political solution, Morocco, under the Madrid Accord of 14 November 1975 concluded with Spain, remains the sole competent administrative authority over the entire Territory of Sahara,” noted Benaissa.

He added that this authority was confirmed by the 1990 settlement plan and reinforced by the proposals that followed it, notably the Framework Agreement of June 2001. during the presentation of this agreement, the UN Secretary general voiced conviction that “the Government of Morocco, as the administrative Power in Western Sahara, is prepared to offer or support some devolution of authority for all the inhabitants and former inhabitants of the Territory”.

Thus it seems, he deplored, that the other parties to the dispute, in disregard of international law, are laying ever-greater obstacles in the path of the international community’s efforts to reach a negotiated political solution on the Sahara issue.

These parties, he insisted, should fulfil their obligations, refrain from entering into agreements or contracts involving the Territory and show the necessary political will by participating in the negotiations supported by the international community. 

Morocco, for its part, is prepared to initiate negotiations without delay and will soon submit a proposal on autonomy to this end. “My country hopes that the other parties will join this common effort to end the dispute once and for all in the interest of the entire Maghreb region,” reaffirmed Benaissa.