C-24: Sahara: Gambia Reiterates Full Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity

Gambia reiterated, before the UN C-24, its “full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco over all its territories, including the Moroccan Sahara.” “Gambia’s government recognizes the principle of sovereignty as a fundamental international standard that cannot be ignored in the settlement of this dispute. In this regard, the Gambian government reaffirms its full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco over all its territories, including the Moroccan Sahara,” Ambassador Lamin Faati, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of The Gambia to the UN told the Committee. In this regard, he recalled that his country has opened in January 2020, a Consulate General in the Moroccan Sahara “under this international standard” of the sovereignty of states over the territory. Referring to the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Gambian diplomat welcomed the efforts undertaken by Morocco to expand the national vaccination campaign to the entire population of the Sahara to contain the pandemic, stressing that this commendable act does not surprise anyone “because it only reflects the long-standing commitment of Morocco to the socio-economic development of the Sahara region.” Faati recalled, “the efforts and investments made by Morocco for the human development of the Sahara population as part of the framework of the New Development Model of the Moroccan Sahara launched in 2015.” Regarding the political process, the Gambia reiterated “its full support for the ongoing political process, under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General, aimed at forging a political solution based on realism, compromise, and perseverance to resolve this dispute.” The diplomat stressed that the Gambia “encourages the favorable consideration of the autonomy initiative presented by the Kingdom of Morocco as a viable compromise solution,” saying that this initiative reflects “a strong desire to resolve this regional dispute under international law. Faati also expressed the hope that the next regional seminar of the C-24 will build on the achievements of the latest in-person seminar held in May 2019, which was marked by the participation of democratically elected representatives of the Sahara region, and accelerate the pace of the political process for the resolution of this regional dispute.