Moroccan think tank urges Parliament, US and allies to designate Polisario as terrorist organization

Morocco’s National Observatory for Strategic Studies has called on Parliament to take steps to designate the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization, urging the US Congress and lawmakers in Morocco’s allied and friendly countries to adopt similar measures.

In a statement issued Sunday, the observatory said these countries should take clear legislative steps and adopt the necessary legal and institutional measures to enforce the designation, which it said would strengthen international efforts to combat terrorism and protect regional security and stability.

It explained that recent developments in the Moroccan Sahara issue, including changes to the future UN mechanisms for managing the dispute,  are bringing the region into a new political and security phase that calls for a thorough review of security and legal policies towards the Polisario militias.

The observatory also called for Algeria to be held fully accountable, politically, legally and regionally, for the ongoing dispute, accusing it of hosting, financing, and arming the Polisario, as well as providing political and logistical support. 

It urged the international community to conduct a serious assessment to determine the responsibilities involved.

The observatory also called on the Moroccan Parliament to launch the legislative process without delay to designate the Polisario militias as a terrorist organization and establish the legal framework needed to enforce the designation in line with national law and adopted legal standards.

It stressed the need to strengthen Morocco’s defense and security systems, step up border protection, and secure national territory. 

It called for restoring full Moroccan control over the buffer zone east of the security wall and ending any armed presence or activity that threatens national security, which it described as a direct attack on territory under Moroccan sovereignty.