Rabat – Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita has responded to interpretations claiming the latest UN resolution also refers to a referendum on Western Sahara as an option.
In an interview with EFE, Bourita emphasized that “no one has ever said that self-determination is synonymous with a referendum.”
He stressed that the concept refers to an expression of will that can take different forms within the framework of Morocco’s Autonomy Plan.
On October 31, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2797, endorsing the Autonomy Plan as the genuine political solution to end the dispute over Western Sahara.
EFE journalists in the interview said the resolution also speaks of “respecting the right to self-determination.”
Bourita responded, saying the resolution has never said self-determination means a referendum.
“What it says is that the right to self-determination allows the parties to express their will. I don’t think that when a person signs an agreement following negotiations, they are not expressing a will,” Bourita said.
He emphasized that expressing the will of the parties after negotiation and signing a document is an expression of will,” Bourita said, stating Morocco has no problem with “self-determination.”
Bourita, however, clarified how Morocco rejects restrictive, anachronistic interpretations for political purposes.
“No one has ever said that self-determination is synonymous with a referendum – this exists nowhere. Therefore, we believe that if we want to read the resolution clearly and lucidly, it is straightforward,” Bourita said.
For him, if people want to interpret the resolution politically and “steer it, that is something else.”
Asked about Resolution 2797, Bourita said the adopted text is a break from everything the UN had done until now.
The Moroccan FM clarified that the resolution details the basis of negotiations, referencing the Autonomy Plan. It also detailed the parties to the dispute as Morocco, Algeria, Polisario, and Mauritania.
What’s next is determined by the implementation of the resolution, Bourita said, as the text clearly calls on the parties to engage in negotiations based on Morocco’s autonomy initiative to reach a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution.
Bourita also recalled Morocco’s announcement emphasizing that the North African country will update the Autonomy Plan and expand it.
“The plan was drafted in 2007; 18 years have passed, and much has changed in Morocco since then,” he told EFE.
He added that autonomy was formerly seen as a diplomatic initiative. But with the new resolution, it is now a plan rather than just an initiative.
The Moroccan FM renewed Morocco’s commitment toward negotiations, emphasizing Rabat’s readiness to engage with the three parties in future roundtable talks.
“Morocco, therefore, does not need to comment on the presence or absence of the Polisario. Morocco will align itself with and respect what is stipulated in the resolution,” he said.
With regards to negotiations, Bourita said there is still no set date for the process.
He said Morocco is still waiting for a formal invitation to the negotiation table at the appropriate time, recalling the resolution’s reference to the US as the country that must host the negotiation.
“So they also have a role to play,” he added.
