Mauritius backs Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara at UN General Assembly

Pinned summary · as of 06:24

Mauritius has shifted its public position on the Moroccan Sahara dispute, according to Dhananjay Ramful, its Foreign Minister, who spoke in New York on Wednesday. He met his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, on the margins of the 81st UN General Assembly and said autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is now Port Louis's preferred route to a settlement.

What we know

• Mr Ramful, Mauritius's minister for foreign affairs, regional integration and international trade, met Morocco's Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
• Mr Ramful described autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as “the most credible solution” to the dispute, which he called a regional one.
• According to Mr Ramful, the Mauritian Cabinet reviewed the country's stance on the issue recently, after the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2797.
• Mauritius now regards Resolution 2797 as pragmatic, Mr Ramful said, and sees Saharan autonomy under the Kingdom of Morocco's sovereignty as the fairest, most realistic and most lasting settlement.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Both The New Crusading Guide and Ghana News Online describe the new Mauritian stance as part of a wider momentum led by King Mohammed VI, and present Moroccan-sovereignty autonomy as the sole answer to what they call an artificial dispute. That is the publications' own framing, not a statement from Mauritius, and it reflects one side of a contested issue.
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  The New Crusading Guide reported that Jamaica's Foreign Minister, Kamina Johnson Smith, welcomed Resolution 2797 in New York on Wednesday and signed a joint communiqué with Mr Bourita, which praises Morocco's diplomatic work and backs the Autonomy Plan; the two ministers also agreed to keep up political consultations. No other report carries this.
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  The New Crusading Guide said Resolution 2797 endorses the Personal Envoy and the Secretary-General of the UN in talks anchored to Morocco's Autonomy Plan, and that it calls genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty a highly feasible outcome. Other reports have not confirmed this reading of the resolution.

Why it matters for Ghana

The Western Sahara question divides African and other governments at the UN, and each country that changes its stance shifts the diplomatic balance on the continent. Ghana is an African Union member with its own foreign policy positions and a seat in multilateral talks. Ghanaian readers following African diplomacy can see from this report that positions on the dispute are still moving.