Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Omar Hilale, responded to the remarks made by Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara during the general debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
In a firm but measured intervention, Hilale stated that he wanted to “provide clarifications and reestablish truths” and respond point by point “without controversy or animosity” to what he described as “inaccuracies” made by the Algerian minister.
The diplomat first emphasized that the inclusion of the Moroccan Sahara issue in the United Nations General Assembly, 62 years ago, was Morocco’s own initiative. “History is stubborn. History will remember that it was Morocco that put the Sahara issue on the agenda of the General Assembly as a decolonization issue. This inclusion did not happen by itself, but thanks to Morocco’s demands since 1956,” he said.
He then expressed regret that the Algerian minister had failed to mention the General Assembly resolution acknowledging the Madrid Accords, even though the debate is taking place within this UN body.
“In this room, fifty years ago, the General Assembly adopted its resolution 3458B, which took note of the Madrid Accords. These put an end to Spanish colonization of our Southern Provinces,” Ambassador Hilale emphasized.
Reacting to the reference to the Moroccan Sahara as a “decolonization issue,” the Ambassador challenged the Algerian official, recalling that Algeria, a member of the Security Council, is well aware that the Council examines this issue “as a matter of peace and security, within the framework of the peaceful settlement of disputes.”
Referring to the creation of MINURSO 34 years ago, the diplomat emphasized that the history of the Sahara does not begin or end with this UN mission, specifying that the Security Council has, for 21 years, adopted other resolutions calling in particular for a political solution.
He added that “since 2007, the Security Council has adopted a resolution every year that enshrines the preeminence of the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative, which it considers serious and credible.”
In response to what the Algerian minister described as so-called “imposed realities” on the ground, Morocco’s Permanent Representative highlighted the socio-economic transformation of the southern provinces, asserting their fundamental and irreversible right to development.
“The realities of the Moroccan Sahara today are billions in investments, peace, and stability. It has the longest bridge in Africa, a north-south highway, universities, university hospitals, and the largest deep-water port in Africa on the Atlantic,” he said.
He added that the region benefits from the “active participation of the population of the Moroccan Sahara in all political, cultural, and economic events,” while emphasizing that “30 Consulates General have been opened in the Moroccan Sahara, illustrating a concrete recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the region.”
Morocco also relies on international economic support, he emphasized: “The United States recently instructed its agencies and companies to invest in the Moroccan Sahara.”
The Moroccan representative also highlighted the contradiction in Algeria’s stance: “Algeria claims not to be a stakeholder, but it sets conditions and defines the fundamentals for the resolution of this dispute. By what right does it set these conditions? If not as a stakeholder?”
He welcomed this implicit recognition, while calling on Algiers to engage more actively in the UN political process.
“We hope that this statement will be followed up at the Security Council, by participating in roundtable discussions to achieve a settlement of this regional dispute, which has lasted far too long,” the diplomat continued.
Hilale reiterated the broad support for the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative, underlining that “more than 120 countries, including three permanent members of the Security Council and more than two-thirds of the members of the European Union, back this Initiative and endorse it as the one and only solution to this dispute, while dozens more recognize the Moroccanness of the Sahara.”
True to the spirit of dialogue advocated by the Kingdom of Morocco, the Ambassador concluded his speech with a quote from the Throne Speech of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, delivered on July 29, 2025.
In His Speech, the Sovereign stated: “As proud as I am of these stances, which uphold right and legitimacy, I keenly look forward, as well, to finding a consensual solution – a solution with neither winner nor loser; a face-saving solution for all parties.”
MAP: 30 September 2025
