Western Sahara: Moroccan autonomy plan endorsed by Niger

Niger has expressed support for Morocco’s autonomy plan over the disputed Western Sahara territory, according to the Moroccan government-friendly North Africa Post and agencies on November 20th.

This supportive stance was expressed by Niger’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bakary Yaou Sangaré, following talks with the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, in Rabat on November 20th.

Sangaré welcomed the adoption of UN Resolution 2797, which reportedly supports Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, which the UN Security Council voted to support as the most “feasible solution” to the Western Sahara dispute on October 31st.

Through its support for the plan, Niger joins 130 nations that have also supported the initiative, which would grant the territory limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty.

Support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan has been widespread, with Malawi and Gambia also supporting the proposal.

Gambian Foreign Minister Sering Modou Njie described the plan as the “only solution” to resolve the conflict over the disputed region, a sentiment echoed by his Malawian counterpart George Tapatula Chaponda.

An alliance between Niger and Morocco was formed in December 2023 when Niger joined the Kingdom’s Atlantic Initiative, which granted landlocked Sahel countries access to the Atlantic Ocean via Morocco. The support for the Moroccan plan potentially signals a deepening of ties between Niamey and Rabat.

This is despite Niger’s historical ties to Algeria, which opposes Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara; both countries are former French colonies in Africa, with Niger gaining independence in 1960, and Algeria following in 1962.

Algeria’s opposition to Resolution 2797 has led to its international diplomacy deteriorating, not least because of its support for the Polisario Front, a separatist militia that claims to fight for self-determination of the region’s indigenous Sahrawi people.

The Algerian-backed militant group is armed by Iran and has also become diplomatically isolated due to 46 countries suspending or severing ties with the front.

The Western Sahara, which borders Morocco, Algeria, and Mauritania, was a Spanish colony until 1975; the Polisario Front first recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1976. However, the EU reaffirmed its long-standing non-recognition of the territory in May, which can be interpreted as delegitimising the Polisario Front’s authority.

North Africa Post and agencies, Maghrebi.org