As Morocco advances its efforts to update the autonomy plan, debates are growing over how to handle reconciliation and the reintegration of returnees from the Tindouf camps.
While some academics and rights activists support creating a formal framework to integrate returnees into public-sector jobs, others stress the need to first identify who is eligible to return, particularly in light of security concerns and the presence of non-Moroccan nationals in the camps.
In a recent speech marking the adoption of UN Resolution 2797, King Mohammed VI called on those in the Tindouf camps to seize the opportunity to reunite with their families and contribute to local governance and development under Morocco’s autonomy plan.
The King also reaffirmed that all Moroccans are equal in rights, with no difference between returnees and citizens inside the country.
The Moroccan League for Citizenship and Human Rights has proposed the creation of a “Sahrawi Reconciliation and Development Authority” to address the impact of separation, provide psychosocial support, resolve tribal disputes, and facilitate the integration of returnees into regional public-sector positions.
Political analyst Abbas Al Ouardi said the current momentum surrounding autonomy requires “concrete accompanying measures to ensure the smooth and non-discriminatory reintegration of returnees.”
He added that all indications suggest that the framework for integrating returnees from the Tindouf camps will be tailored to their specific economic, social, and rights-related needs, with support structures put in place at both the national and regional levels.
He also noted that Sahrawi tribal leaders are expected to play a key role in settling the issue alongside state institutions.
International relations expert Mohammed Nachtaoui highlighted the constitutional, organisational, legal, political, and security challenges linked to the autonomy plan, particularly the question of how to deal with individuals who took up arms against Morocco.
He stressed the need to clearly define eligibility for return, citing a report by Spanish intelligence indicating that no more than 1,819 people in the Tindouf camps, around 2% of the total, are Sahrawis, while the majority are Algerians, Mauritanians, or Cubans.
Nachtaoui added that the state has the tools to screen returnees and must set clear conditions before moving to wider consultations on governance arrangements in the southern provinces.
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