African Prime Ministers and Ministers gathered in Marrakech to relaunch their call to exclude the self-proclaimed “SADR” from the African Union (AU) through the adoption of a White Paper bringing together pan-African reflections on the subject of the Sahara. After the Tangier Appeal signed last November, African ministers met for their first follow-up meeting to lay the groundwork for comprehensive action explaining the reasons for their position. Here are the 10 most important points of this White Paper.
Since their solemn appeal for the expulsion of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi republic “RASD” from the Polisario movement, signed in Tangier, the African Prime Ministers and Ministers have been joined by other eminent ministers from different countries of the continent.
The former Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Gambia, Lamin Kaba Badjo, of Lesotho, Lesego Makgothi and of Madagascar, Patrick Rajoelina, joined this initiative to regularize the situation of the African Union which has among its members a militia self-proclaimed as a republic, not recognized by the United Nations and which is not a real country.
During this first follow-up meeting, the ministers discussed a draft White Paper entitled “The African Union and the Sahara Question – Final deliverable of a deep and inclusive pan-African intellectual reflection”, adopted unanimously, resulting of 5 debates, meetings and seminars that took place between May and October 2021, in Nouakchott, Dakar, Accra, Dar Es-Salaam and Kinshasa.
The main arguments and reflections contained in this White Paper are based on 10 points.
-The “rasd”, is imposed on the only UA (formerly OUA) and is not a state entity since it does not have any of the qualifying attributes of a “State”. – The “rasd” is a non-state entity with no international legal responsibility. – The “rasd”, ineffective because of its non-state character, brings no added value to the AU and is a source of division rather than unity. -The presence within the AU of the “RASD”, a non-state emanation of an armed separatist group, illustrates the institutional vulnerability of the Organization and represents an undeniable obstacle to regional and continental economic integration. – The “rasd”, installed in Algerian territory, is subject to a superior sovereignty, that of Algeria.
– The admission of the “rasd” to the OAU took place in a particular context, at a time when the Continent was caught up in different ideological currents which are now obsolete,
– The admission of the “SADR” to the OAU was a legal coup in flagrant violation of its Charter.
– By admitting the “rasd”, the OAU prejudged, in all bias, the outcome of a process, described as a “regional solution”. – The presence of the “rasd” within the OAU and then the AU distanced the organization from dealing with the Sahara issue.
– Decision 693 (XXXI) taken by the AU at the Nouakchott Summit in July 2018 attests to the exclusivity of the UN process in the search for a “just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution”.
The African ministers, most of whom are seasoned diplomats, considered that the White Paper is a legal and political document of reference, which materializes a vision of a united Africa and a renewed pan-Africanism, far from the ideologies of another time. which “develops an irrefutable factual and historical argument”.