Western Sahara: Burkina Faso reaffirms Morocco support

Burkina Faso has reaffirmed support for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara territory, according to the Moroccan government-friendly North Africa Post and agencies.

This support was expressed in a joint statement issued on December 10th, following the 5th Session of the Morocco-Burkina Faso Joint Cooperation Commission, held in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.

Resolution 2797, also known as the Moroccan Autonomy Plan, proposes to grant the Western Sahara limited self-governance under Moroccan sovereignty.

The UN Security Council gave token support to the plan following a vote on October 31st; the proposal is widely recognised as a “feasible solution” to the 50-year territorial dispute, which began when Spanish colonial rule over the region ended in 1975.

The commission was co-chaired by Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré and his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita.

It was previously reported on December 2nd that Traoré had affirmed his nation’s support for Morocco following a meeting with Bourita in Rabat.

By expressing support for Moroccan sovereignty, Burkina Faso joined 130 nations which have already endorsed Morocco’s proposal as the most realistic solution to the decades-long conflict between the Kingdom and Algeria.

Ties between Burkina Faso and Morocco have developed despite the former’s history as a French colony and its historical ties to Algeria, Morocco’s regional rival.

Algeria supports the Polisario Front separatist militia, which claims to engage in an armed struggle against Moroccan occupation on behalf of the Sahrawi people, whose ancestral homeland is the disputed Western Sahara territory.

Burkina Faso gained independence from France in 1960, followed by Algeria in 1962. In recent years, France sought to withdraw its military presence from its former colonies, despite claims that the presence was there to combat the rise of Islamist extremism in the region.

In response to rising Islamist extremism, Burkina Faso is among a rising number of Sahel countries to impose the death penalty on those convicted of crimes such as terrorism or treason.

Burkina Faso had previously abolished the death penalty in 2018, with the last execution being carried out in 1988. However, the rising regional security threat posed by armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State has resulted in the bill’s reinstatement.

In contrast, Morocco has de facto abolished the death penalty, despite still having 88 people listed as being sentenced to death. In 2024, Justice Minister Adbellatif Ouahbi pledged to legislate a permanent abolition of capital punishment.

North Africa Post and agencies, Maghrebi.org