French Bias Fuels Armed Conflict in Western Sahara

On Monday, the Algerian National Committee for Solidarity with the Sahrawi People confirmed that French recognition of the autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region, within the framework of false Moroccan sovereignty, is a serious violation of international law.

In a statement, the committee added that its members show “discontent” with the French decision regarding official compatibility with Moroccan proposals regarding the autonomy plan in Western Sahara.

The committee explained that this declaration confirms “France’s shameful and almost hidden support for the Moroccan regime in its colonization of Western Sahara,” noting that they are “two political trends, one of them has a permanent outdated colonial spirit and the other built its colonial trend on an expansionist illusion outside history.”

Given its responsibilities as a permanent member of the Security Council that is called upon to ensure respect and application of international law – according to the statement – “By taking this unjust decision, France specifically causes a serious attack on international law, which clearly stipulates the legitimacy of the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.”

In this context, the committee noted that “through these same responsibilities within the Security Council and instead of working to resolve international disputes within a unanimously codified legal framework, France, through this unbalanced official decision, is working to fuel the armed conflict taking place in Western Sahara, which seriously threatens stability and security in the region”.

The committee stressed, through the statement, that “the French decision in no way diminishes the Sahrawi people’s will to resist and the determination to fight, even with weapons, intending to benefit from their recognized right to self-determination.”

It concluded that France – as a permanent member of the Security Council – could have actually helped resolve this conflict as an issue of decolonization, but “unfortunately, it is no longer part of the solution, but has in itself become a problem and an obstacle to resolving the Sahrawi issue.”