Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, delivered a robust response on Monday to Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf’s remarks regarding the Western Sahara, during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.
Addressing the Assembly, Hilale denounced what he described as “inaccuracies” in Algeria’s intervention and stressed his intent to “reestablish the truth” without “controversy or animosity.”
He recalled that Morocco had placed the Sahara issue on the UN agenda 62 years ago, framing it as a decolonization matter through demands formulated in 1956.
Hilale also noted that the General Assembly recognized the Madrid Accords of 1975, which ended Spanish colonization of Morocco’s southern provinces—a detail he said was overlooked by Algeria.
Challenging Algeria’s exclusively “decolonial” narrative, Hilale emphasized that the UN Security Council, of which Algeria is a member, now considers the matter primarily a peace and security issue. “Since 2007, the Council has adopted a resolution every year confirming the preeminence of the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative, which it considers serious and credible,” he stated.
Hilale countered accusations of “imposed realities” by highlighting Morocco’s tangible achievements in the Sahara, including large-scale infrastructure projects, the continent’s longest bridge, the deep-water port of Dakhla, universities, hospitals, and active political and economic participation by local populations.
He also cited the establishment of thirty consulates in Laayoune and Dakhla as “a concrete recognition of Moroccan sovereignty.”
The diplomat criticized Algeria for what he called duplicity, asserting that it claims not to be a party to the conflict while imposing conditions on its resolution. He urged Algiers to transform its “implicit admission” into constructive engagement, particularly through participation in UN roundtables.
Hilale also underlined the broad international backing for Morocco’s approach: “More than 120 countries, including three permanent members of the Security Council and a majority of European Union states, support the Moroccan Initiative as the only viable solution.”
Echoing King Mohammed VI’s throne speech, Hilale extended a hand to Algeria for a consensual settlement “without winner or vanquished,” a gesture he said has so far been ignored, with Algeria continuing to arm and finance the Polisario in Tindouf camps.
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