The AUSACO Conference calls on the United Nations to recognize the new realities of the Moroccan Sahara
- AUSACO, high-level professionals
- Construction of the port of Dakhla is progressing at a good pace
- Final Declaration of AUSACO 2025
The participants from different countries are politicians, diplomats, academics, lawyers, journalists, and professionals of proven high standing. In the final declaration of the Conference, they approved, among other points, support for Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara, highlighted the results of the new development model for the southern provinces, and underscored the great scope of the initiatives promoted by King Mohammed VI, such as the Morocco-Nigeria Gas Pipeline, the Atlantic-Africa Initiative, and the Initiative to Promote Access to the Atlantic for the Sahel Countries. called for the United Nations' approach to be redefined in light of the new realities in the Moroccan Sahara and the new developments on the ground, and for Algeria and the Polisario Front to negotiate a solution with autonomy for the Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty as the best possible framework.
The second Political Conference of the Coalition for the Autonomy of the Sahara (#AUSACO) was held in Dakhla under the theme: “The new reality of the Moroccan Sahara: A path for a revised UN approach in an ever-changing geopolitical context.”
AUSACO, high-level professionals
Atika Roboa, Vice President of the Government of Dakhla, highlighted in her opening speech the importance of holding “a conference that demonstrates the support of representatives from countries around the world,” with a high intellectual, political, and professional level, for a political and peaceful solution to the Sahara dispute, which is the proposal for autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty presented by Morocco in 2007 at the United Nations on the initiative of King Mohammed VI.
“In the Moroccan Sahara, we have democratic institutions in accordance with the rule of law to guarantee freedoms, rights, and respect for all and the development of autonomy, which I can say without hesitation is the only solution,” said the vice president of a government democratically elected in September 2021 by the Sahrawis living in this province in southern Morocco.
Jordanian journalist Amal Abed Alhaleem Ahmed Aljbour spoke on behalf of Ausaco to explain the preparatory work of each of the participants in the conference, who prepared various presentations on relevant aspects of the reality of the Moroccan Sahara and the view that various countries around the world have of an anachronistic situation which has lasted for almost 50 years and must be resolved as soon as possible under the umbrella of an organization such as the United Nations, which must urge the parties involved to negotiate an end to the regional dispute that only some, such as the Polisario Front and Algeria, intend to continue despite the precarious and inhumane situation of thousands of people in the Tindouf camps.
Precisely, the Polisario Front and its activities were addressed by some of the interventions calling for the recognition of the Sahrawi Movement for Peace as representatives of the Sahrawi people, highlighting the legislative initiative in the United States, supported by security experts, to declare this organization a terrorist organization because of its violent actions, its relationship with Iran and Hezbollah, for its cruel repression in the Tindouf camps, where thousands of people suffer torture and arbitrary detention, all under the protective umbrella of Algeria, whose government, guided by archaic military interests, has used the Sahara as a tool in its unilateral confrontation with Morocco.
Participants from African countries such as Souleymane Satigui Sidibe and Haidara Badara Aliou from Mali, Alphonse Zozime Tamekamta from Cameroon, and Ismail Buchanan from Rwanda emphasized the threat to the stability of their countries posed by the actions in the region of an organization such as the Polisario under the leadership of Algeria, but with direct links to terrorist groups and human, drug, and arms trafficking. In the same vein, Egyptian journalist Doaa Mohamed Youssef Mohamed highlighted the positions of Arab countries on Morocco's position.
Spanish representatives such as Professor Rafael Esparza pointed to the need to recognize other political organizations such as the Sahrawi Movement for Peace as representatives of the Sahrawi people with the right to participate in negotiations within the United Nations for a solution to the dispute. The MSP is committed to peace and a political, peaceful, and negotiated solution with autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, which must be given substance in all sectors, including political, economic, social, cultural, and the identity of the Sahrawi people.
For her part, Canarian lawyer María Ángeles Ramos highlighted a very important legal aspect of the 1975 Madrid Accords, which grant tribal leaders a prominent place in the administration of the Sahara.
I myself addressed the New Development Model for the Southern Provinces: a lever for socioeconomic progress in the Moroccan Sahara.
Italian representatives Antonio Stango, Ouidad Bakkali, and Ettore Rosato highlighted the value of the Italian example of autonomy as a reference for the autonomy of the Sahara, while French representatives Christophe Boutin and Jérôme Besnard underscored the reasons for France's clear and decisive support for the Moroccan character of the Sahara.
Representatives from Latin American countries Martha Gladys Chavez Cossio of Peru, Ramiro Chavez Gochicoa from Mexico, and Luis Rafael González Hernandez from the Dominican Republic, emphasized the evolution of the situation thanks to the intense and excellent work of Moroccan diplomacy around the world, which has succeeded in demonstrating and convincing numerous important countries around the world of the Moroccan character of the Sahara and the need to end 50 years of suffering and violence.
Construction of the port of Dakhla is progressing at a good pace
Participants in the 2nd Political Conference of the Coalition for the Autonomy of the Sahara (#AUSACO) visited the construction site of the Atlantic port of Dakhla, where its director, Nisrine Iouzzi, explained the status of a construction project that represents one of the cornerstones of the future development of the southern provinces of Morocco, but also of neighboring African countries, Spain, and the European Union, and will mark a turning point for all types of shipping between Africa, Europe, and America.
Nisrine Iouzzi stated that by the end of 2025, the works will be 50% complete, while forecasts point to 2029 as the year when the port will become operational. It will house a commercial container terminal, an energy terminal, and a fishing terminal, with sustainable facilities powered by green energy as the main tool for its operation, which will be fully digitized.
The director of the port of Dakhla stated that collaboration with ports in the region is guaranteed, including Spanish ports in the Canary Islands, within the framework of the excellent relations between Spain and Morocco.
The new Atlantic port of Dakhla will play a very important role in the Atlantic initiative promoted by King Mohammed VI with the Sahel countries to facilitate the export and marketing of their products through Moroccan ports in order to contribute to strengthening their economic, commercial, and political development, as well as the initiative to relaunch the Atlantic development of Africa, which has a very important element in the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline.
Nisrine Iouzzi provided all the technical details of this major engineering project carried out by Moroccan companies and experts, which will be a hub for job creation for the entire region and a major geostrategic, geopolitical, economic, and commercial benchmark for peace, security, and stability throughout the region.
Final Declaration of AUSACO 2025
We, the members of AUSACO:
1. Reiterate our support for the Moroccan identity of the Sahara, an integral part of the national territory of the Kingdom of Morocco;
2. Welcome the efforts made by the Kingdom of Morocco within the framework of the New Development Model for the Southern Provinces of 2015, in the Moroccan Sahara, aimed at establishing as a gateway from Morocco to Africa and other continents of the world;
3. Congratulate the Kingdom of Morocco, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, on the three Royal Initiatives, namely the Morocco-Nigeria Gas Pipeline, the Atlantic Africa Initiative, and the Initiative to Promote Access to the Atlantic for the Sahel Countries, as part of a strategic vision aimed at establishing the Moroccan Sahara as a platform for security, stability, and co-development in the Atlantic, Saharan, African, and Mediterranean regions;
4. We welcome the climate of peace, security, freedom, and democracy prevailing in the Moroccan Sahara region and the opening by 32 countries from all continents of the world of their Consulates General in the cities of Laayoune and Dakhla, marking the irreversible dynamic of the Moroccan identity of the Sahara; 5. Reaffirm our support for the Initiative for the Negotiation of an Autonomy Status for the Moroccan Sahara Region, which remains the one and only solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, and recall its compliance with international law, the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions;
6. Call for a redefinition of the United Nations approach in light of the new realities of the Moroccan Sahara and new developments on the ground.
7. Urge Algeria to assume its historical responsibilities in the genesis, evolution, and persistence of the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara and to engage in a spirit of realism and compromise in the UN roundtable process, throughout its duration and until its conclusion;
8. Demand that Algeria respect its obligations under international humanitarian law to put an end to the lawless situation existing in the Tindouf camps on Algerian territory, and to allow the dignified return of the populations held captive in these camps to their motherland, Morocco;
9. Call on all countries of the world that have not yet done so to clearly express their support for IMA to join the 116 countries that have already clearly and firmly expressed their support for this initiative.
We the members of AUSACO
Hereby decide:
10. To continue our actions through the Coalition for Sahara Autonomy within political, academic, media, and civil society circles, to deconstruct the fallacious narrative of Algeria and the "Polisario" and highlight the realities of the Moroccan Sahara issue at the UN and on the ground;
11. To work to attract new figures to join AUSACO with a view to intensifying its actions on all continents;
12. To develop a new collective work on the dynamics of international support for the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative in light of the socio-economic development of the Moroccan Sahara region;
13. To organize the third AUSACO Conference in Dakhla in April 2026.
Done in Dakhla, on April