For These Reasons, Morocco Will Not Join The African Union

Morocco’s request to join the African Union will not be achieved at all, given the number of factors that are related to the principles of the Union on the one hand, and the formal positions and articles in the Moroccan Constitution which express openly the ambitions of expansion, on the other hand, and that are are incompatible with the founding principles of the Organization of African Unity Organization and the African Union later, a senior diplomatic source told Echorouk.

Same diplomatic source added that the Kingdom of Morocco have ambiguity in its Constitution through the expansive articles explicitly and at the expense of other countries, as there are texts in the two versions of the constitution in Arabic and French, especially those relating to the French version.

“Constitution of Morocco in its Article No. 42 states that the kingdom recognizes the real historical boundaries and in French it stipulated as “Les frontières authentiques”, without explicitly referring to the boundaries”.

“With this article Morocco opposed the regulations and principles of the creation of the AU, for the fact that this article is subject to interpretation and is ambiguous, and is considered by the African Union as an expansive door that should be closed”.

“Among the issues that raise the ire of the African Union and makes Morocco’s accession conditional on a set of procedures and modifications that it must perform, as contained in the House of Councillors, which is like the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, the border of Morocco and the occupied territories”.

“This committee includes an expansive phrase on the one hand, as it serves as an intention of the ambitions of expansion in the neighboring countries of the Kingdom, namely Algeria and Western Sahara, which is a founding member of the African Union, and on the other hand, they are in conflict with one of the most important provisions and principles of the African Union, which is the issue of the borders that is inherited from colonization”.

“Refusal of the African Union to the request of Morocco lies from the premise that the African continent suffered the ravages of colonialism, armed conflicts and wars because of the border, and from the door to fill the excuses, the Union makes of the borders that were inherited from colonialism, the only recognized in dealing with the countries, and including it as a condition that is approved by the States that are wishing to join this African body”.

“But, given what is provided by the Moroccan constitution, and the designation of the Commission at the level of the Moroccan House of Councillors, the Alaoui Kingdom is in a competitive race condition and contradiction over the membership of the African Union principles”.

“Moroccan move masks a desire to destabilize the African Union and hit its stability, just as King Mohammed VI did immediately after his accession to the throne, where he said in an interview during his visit to Washington in 2000, that he refuses to attend the Arab Maghreb Union meetings”.

Previously, Commissioner of the African Union, Nkosazana Zuma Dlamini, responded in a statement, the accusations of Morocco about disabling the distribution of its request to join the organization, saying that “The Commission only performs its powers in accordance with the Constitutive Act of the African Union”.

“A commission that received replies is still gathering responses and attitudes of states and Morocco’s request is studied is in accordance with what is legal, and when the Commission reached the responses of Member States, it will notify the results of the applicant.”

“Decision on acceptance or rejection of Morocco’s request is a matter that is reserved for the 54 member states”.