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Western Sahara has been disputed since Spain left its former colony in 1975. Morocco and the Polisario Front, a pro-independence group backed by Algeria, both claim sovereignty over the area. The region is home to 600,000 people and is considered a non-self-governing territory by the United Nations.
The United Kingdom on Sunday became the latest country to back Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara. During a visit to Rabat, Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the plan was “the most credible, viable and pragmatic” way to resolve the dispute over the territory’s sovereignty.
He also reiterated support for the United Nations-led resolution process and called on Morocco to “expand on details of what autonomy within the Moroccan State could entail for the region.”
Britain had previously said the region’s status was undetermined, and that it supported “the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.”
Western Sahara has been disputed since Spain left its former colony in 1975. Morocco and the Polisario Front, a pro-independence group backed by Algeria, both claim sovereignty over the area. The region is home to 600,000 people and is considered a non-self-governing territory by the United Nations.
Since 1991, the United Nations has administered a peacekeeping mission designed to hold a referendum to determine the status of the disputed territory, all of which is under Morocco’s control except for a small sliver near the Algerian border. Morocco’s 2007 proposal would offer the area limited autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.
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Algeria has long criticised Western support for Morocco and said it regretted Britain’s decision. Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the autonomy plan “empty of content and incapable of contributing to a serious and credible settlement of the conflict”, in a statement released on Sunday.
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