Sahara: Togo Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, The “Compromise Solution”

Togo reaffirmed, before the 4th Committee of the UN General Assembly, its support for Morocco’s Autonomy initiative, deeming it “the compromise solution” to solve the regional dispute over the Sahara. “The Togolese delegation reiterates its attachment to the principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty and renews its support for the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative which is, obviously, the compromise solution to this regional dispute, in accordance with international law”, underlined Koffi Akakpo, chargé d’affaires at Togo’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. He also praised the socio-economic development in the Moroccan Sahara thanks to the investments and projects implemented within the framework of the new development model for the southern provinces. Launched in 2015, this model has greatly contributed to empowering populations and improving human development indices in the Moroccan Sahara, he said. The diplomat further stated that his country welcomes the opening of nearly 30 consulates general in Laâyoune and Dakhla of Arab, American, Asian and African countries including Togo, as well as regional organizations. He noted that these representations aim to strengthen the economic and social opportunities offered by the Moroccan Sahara as a hub of development, stability and influence in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and African regions. The diplomat added that his country “supports and encourages” the initiatives of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura, mainly the bilateral consultations he held with the parties concerned by the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, as well as his field visits, the last of which dates back to last September. Noting that these efforts aim to facilitate the relaunch of the political process under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the speaker called on all parties to remain engaged throughout these consultations with a view to reaching a realistic, political solution, that is pragmatic and based on compromise to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara as requested by the Security Council. The diplomat also welcomed Morocco’s full respect of the ceasefire in the Moroccan Sahara, as well as its full and continued cooperation with MINURSO, calling on the other parties to return to the ceasefire and cooperate with the UN Mission. The Togolese delegation also lauded Morocco’s “remarkable” achievements in the area of human rights, in particular the strengthening of the role of the regional commissions of the National Human Rights Council in Laâyoune and Dakhla, and its bilateral cooperation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Treaty bodies and special procedures of the Human Rights Council.