European Union set back in Western Sahara

The author writes about Africa for Avante, newspaper of the Portuguese Communist Party, where this article was published on  Oct. 10, 2024. Translation: John Catalinotto.

African media reported that the United Nations special envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, met a few days ago with the authorities of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).

The diplomat’s trip to the Sahrawi refugee camps is part of the U.N.’s efforts to relaunch the peace process in Western Sahara, blocked by the occupying power, Morocco, which had the support of the United States and the European Union (EU).

The meeting with Saharawi leaders was another opportunity for them to reiterate their demand for a solution that guarantees the people their future. The meeting was attended by senior officials from SADR and the Polisario Front, including the organization’s representative to the United Nations, who is the liaison with the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

Recently, at the U.N. General Assembly, Algeria’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf called for an end to the colonization of Western Sahara by the Moroccan occupiers. And he demanded that the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Sahrawi people be respected, starting with respect for the principle of self-determination.

Ruling hits Morocco’s rule

A “historic” ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) against Morocco was also announced.

A ruling by the CJEU warns that the government in Rabat does not have sovereignty over Western Sahara and that this occupied territory cannot be included in trade or fishing agreements between the EU and Morocco.

The decision, announced on Oct. 4 by the president of the CJEU, Koen Lenaerts, rejected all of the EU’s appeals and confirmed the conclusions of the court’s first level. The magistrate made it clear that trade and fisheries agreements between the EU and Morocco involving Western Sahara must cease within a maximum of one year. Clearly, the ruling considers that by establishing trade agreements with Morocco, the European Commission has violated the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination.

SADR diplomacy explains that the court’s decision culminates a series of legal battles challenging the inclusion of Western Sahara in agreements between the EU and Morocco. The ruling follows previous decisions in 2016 and 2018, in which the court had already annulled the application of trade and fisheries agreements between Brussels and Rabat that included Western Sahara.

The CJEU has consistently held that Western Sahara is a “separate and distinct” territory over which Morocco has neither sovereignty nor a mandate. Under international law, the people of Western Sahara have the right to self-determination, and any agreement involving their territory must obtain their explicit consent. The 2021 rulings also clarify that this consent must be obtained through the U.N.-recognized representative of Western Sahara, the Polisario Front, a principle that the European court has now confirmed.

This decision by the CJEU is, on the one hand, a humiliating defeat for Moroccan colonialism and its supporters, with the European Union at their head, and, on the other hand, another victory for the Saharawi people in their long struggle for the right to sovereignly decide their own destiny.