7 hours ago
Former Peruvian FM: Peru Would Gain from Supporting Morocco's Sahara Autonomy Plan
Doha – Peru's Congress has strongly urged its government to back Morocco's sovereignty over the Western Sahara, following similar moves by major world powers. Former Peruvian Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Mackay recently outlined the advantages Peru would secure by supporting Morocco's autonomy proposal for the region.
In an article published in Diario Expreso, Rodríguez Mackay pointed to the growing international support for Morocco's initiative.
'At the end of 18 years since being formulated in a comprehensive and ecumenical manner – that's why it was presented to the UN, the largest political forum on the planet – the plan has received a highly positive response from the international community,' he wrote.
He noted that the plan 'by its very constitutive nature, grants administrative government to the Sahrawi populations, leaving sovereignty over Western Sahara in the hands of the kingdom, as appropriate, which is the only possible scenario to preserve Morocco's territorial integrity unspoiled.'
The former minister characterized Morocco's proposal as having 'extraordinary peaceful and inclusive dimension,' viewing it as a negotiated solution that 'would never be imposed by Rabat.'
He further stressed that the plan has been 'widely recognized as a realistic, serious and credible unilateral proposal, and whose solution will be the consequence of a mutually acceptable political negotiation as Morocco has well emphasized.'
'That is the magic, in my judgment,' he says, 'that explains the adhesions or unilateral support to the Moroccan autonomy proposal, which has been following a course of unstoppable support that we could qualify, successively, as progressive, growing and overwhelming, by the member States of the UN.'
The former minister mentioned the recent backing from the United Kingdom as further evidence of the plan's strengthening position globally. This move adds the UK to the list of permanent UN Security Council members supporting Morocco's initiative, alongside the United States and France.
'Our diplomacy knows by heart what the empowerment of the Moroccan autonomy proposal politically means for Peru,' Rodríguez Mackay stated.
He encouraged Peru to follow the lead of these major powers and other Latin American nations such as Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic, adding that Peru 'cannot afford the luxury of letting the circumstances of the moment and the opportunity pass by.'
Peru took a first step by suspending relations with the non-existent self-proclaimed 'Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)' in September 2023, 'and this measure alone qualifies sufficiently for our country to follow the steps of three world powers,' he wrote.
This decision reversed a brief reestablishment of ties that had occurred under former leftist President Pedro Castillo's administration.
The Peruvian Congress has twice this year passed motions supporting Morocco. In its most recent action on June 4, lawmakers adopted a motion by an overwhelming majority calling on the executive branch to 'adopt a position of support to the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco over the Western Sahara.'
The congressional motion, presented by First Vice-President Carmen Patricia Juarez Gallegos, characterized Morocco's 2007 autonomy proposal as a 'serious solution in conformity with international law.'
Lawmakers also expressed serious concerns about the Polisario Front's activities. The motion revealed the Polisario's links with 'terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, as well as with networks trafficking arms and persons, and the exploitation of minors in the Tindouf camps.'
According to the Peruvian Congress, 'the Polisario is implicated in serious violations of human rights that constitute threats to regional and international security.'
The document noted that international think tanks have warned against 'attempts by the Tehran-Hezbollah-Polisario axis to destabilize North Africa and the Maghreb.'
In March, Peru's Congress passed another motion urging the country's foreign ministry to express clear support for Morocco's Autonomy Plan.
That document referenced the plan's widespread international backing from over 120 countries and cited UN Security Council Resolution 2756 from October 2024.
Rodríguez Mackay concluded his article with a firm endorsement: 'Peru's alignment with the majority global support for the Moroccan Sahara autonomy initiative would fit like a ring on a finger. We will gain a lot, internationally!' Tags: Autonomy Plan for the SaharaMorocco Peru relationsWestern sahara
