More reasons for the Polisario Front to be designated a terrorist group in the United States
Several initiatives have been registered in the US Congress by congressmen such as Joe Wilson to designate the Polisario Front as a foreign terrorist organization.
A new legislative initiative is currently being considered by Republican Risch, which would require the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General, to conduct a formal assessment to determine whether the Polisario Front meets the legal criteria to be designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
The way to carry out this initiative would be a simple modification of an amendment recently introduced to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2026, according to Michael Walsh, a senior nonresident fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, who also argues that if this legislative initiative were to succeed, it would not only exert international political pressure on the Polisario Front and its allies, such as Algeria and South Africa, but could also generate internal political pressure on several US allies and partners who have supported the Kingdom of Morocco's autonomy plan for the Sahara.
In Spain, one could imagine a domestic political backlash against the government of Pedro Sánchez for its support for Morocco, even though it is currently positioning itself within NATO and the EU as one of the Trump administration's biggest critics.
In the United States, it has been officially commented that the Polisario Front's participation in the Summit of Liberation Movements has certainly not helped its cause in Washington.
As documented in the official press release of the African National Congress, they appeared at the event alongside the Chinese Communist Party. Surprisingly, they did so knowing that the White House and the US Congress are focused on countering the foreign influence of the People's Republic of China on the African continent.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and African Affairs, Mohamed Yislem Beisat, participated on behalf of the Polisario Front at the summit of liberation movements held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on July 26, 27, and 28, 2025, at the invitation of the African National Congress, and chaired the first session of the summit together with representatives from Palestine, Algeria, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
By participating in the event, the Polisario Front clearly demonstrated that it has chosen to support the People's Republic of China in the great power competition with the United States. This is totally inadvisable if they want to avoid being designated as a terrorist organization by the US government.
In Atalayar, Aminie Saidi has written that Morocco is also promoting the designation of the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization. The measure has legal, security, and strategic policy dimensions, reflecting a renewed Moroccan diplomatic approach to managing the conflict.
The initiative seeks to frame the regional dispute over Western Sahara within a broader security context focused on the fight against terrorism.
The concept has been previously proposed in the US Congress, where, among other initiatives, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson introduced a bill calling for the Polisario Front to be designated as a terrorist organization and subject to sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans on its members.
The bill cited allegations of support from entities that Washington considers hostile, such as Iran and Hezbollah.
The Moroccan expert group, from the National Observatory for Strategic Studies, has called on Morocco's partner states and allies to launch legislative initiatives within their parliaments to classify the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization.
In a statement released on Monday, the expert group urged these countries to adopt legal frameworks that criminalize the group's activities and cut off its sources of support.
The Observatory warned of what it described as security threats posed by the Polisario, citing “systematic attacks on civilians, involvement in arms and drug trafficking networks, recruitment of children, and coordination with terrorist groups operating in the Sahel.”
The statement praised a recent initiative in the US Congress to introduce a bill designating the Polisario as a terrorist entity, calling it a constructive step in line with international efforts to combat terrorism and counter foreign-backed separatist movements.
Mohamed Tayyar, security expert and president of the Observatory, emphasized that the designation is strategic and highly significant, with direct implications for legal, security, political, diplomatic, and media dimensions.
He said it elevates the conflict from a limited political or regional dispute, historically backed by Algeria, to the broader international framework of the global war on terrorism, bringing into play international mechanisms, pressures, and alliances. This approach, he noted, would broaden Morocco's legal position on the international stage beyond its national borders.
