As relations between Morocco and the UK continue their promising improvement, discourse around a full and official UK announcement in support of Morocco’s territorial integrity seems to only be a matter of time.
However, a British MP is now alleging that UK ambassador to Morocco Simon Martin hindering the highly anticipated full recognition.
Since the signing of the Association Agreement in 2019 and the Brexit, the UK and the Kingdom of Morocco have come much closer together. Political and economic ties are excellent, but the UK continues to be slow to recognize the Moroccan Sahara.
“During our visit to Morocco, we had a very unsatisfactory discussion on the phone with the British ambassador. As on many other occasions, the British ambassador tried to indicate that we cannot recognize Western Sahara because somehow this would impinge on our relations with our overseas territories, in particular the Falkland Islands. Yet when I pressed the British ambassador to explain why and how this might be the case, no satisfactory answer was forthcoming,” said Conservative MP Daniel Kawczynski at a closed-door meeting.
According to the MP, the British ambassador to Morocco is one of the opponents of recognition of the Moroccan character of the Sahara, as can be understood from the briefing for a meeting in the House of Commons devoted to examining the government’s policy on the Sahara.
A staunch defender of Moroccan-UK relations, he confided that he had debated the subject with Simon Martin when he was visiting Morocco, and had not received good feedback from the British diplomat.
“The United States of America and Israel, two of our most important allies, have recognized the Sahara territory as Moroccan,” he said. It is well known that London follows the American wing in its foreign policy decisions, and this is precisely what questions the delay in British recognition.
The MP went on to say that other Western allies have taken the step of recognizing the Moroccan nature of the Sahara, such as Spain, the former colonial power. He also pointed out that France, the Netherlands, Germany and others all recognize that the autonomy initiative is the best option for the future.
Pointing out that Morocco is Britain’s second-longest-standing ally, the MP doesn’t seem to understand the legal or constitutional reasons for blocking this recognition, which would bring so much to bilateral relations.
The pretext put forward by the ambassador, that supposedly recognition would affect London’s relations with overseas territories, in particular the Falkland Islands, is unsatisfactory, according to Daniel Kawczynski, who judges that there is no legal or constitutional obstacle preventing the British government from taking such a decision, giving the example of France, which also has overseas territories.
“I would ask the Minister for clarification on this point. Is it the fact that we cannot recognize Western Sahara as Moroccan because of legal, constitutional or technical difficulties that might affect our relations with our overseas territories? I don’t see it, knowing that France, which is in the process of recognizing this issue, also has overseas territories,” declared Kawczynski.
He added that “Professor Weller has come to the conclusion that recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara, and even recognition of autonomy proposals, would actually strengthen our relationship with our overseas territories and with the Falkland Islands”, pointing out that he said “the opposite of what we hear from our own ambassador to Morocco”.
“During my visit to Western Sahara, we met representatives of 30 countries that have set up consulates in Dakhla, and more than 90 countries around the world have recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara,” he concluded.UK
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