The MSP highlights Portugal's support for Morocco's Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara

International consensus grows in favour of the Moroccan initiative for the Sahrawi territory 
Hach Ahmed Bericalla y Mohamed Cherif, responsables del MSP- PHOTO/FILE
Hach Ahmed Bericalla and Mohammed Cherif, heads of the MSP – PHOTO/FILE

The Sahrawi Peace Movement (MSP) has welcomed Portugal's support for Morocco's Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara as the most serious and credible option for resolving the Sahrawi dispute and achieving a ‘peaceful solution’ to the problem. 

The MSP issued an official statement highlighting ‘the recent decision by the Portuguese Government to join international support for a political solution to the problem of Western Sahara based on the proposal presented by the Kingdom of Morocco in April 2007 to the United Nations Security Council’. 

‘This position, previously shared by countries of great importance and influence in the UN, such as the United States, Spain, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, reflects a growing international consensus that is in line with the constructive approach advocated by the MSP, which is committed to a peaceful solution to the problem of Western Sahara in which there are no winners or losers,’ the MSP said in its official statement. 

Precisely, this political solution negotiated between the parties on the basis of Morocco's Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara as the most realistic solution is the path that the MSP has defended since its establishment, as it takes into account the Moroccan initiative that 'would recognise a Sahrawi entity endowed with executive authority, legislative and judicial powers, as well as the necessary competences and resources, under ties of sovereignty with the King of Morocco'. 

The official statement of the MSP is reproduced below: 

The Movement Saharawi for Peace (MSP) takes note of the recent decision of the Government of Portugal to join the international support for a political solution to the problem of Western Sahara based on the proposal presented by the Kingdom of Morocco in April 2007 to the Security Council of the United Nations (UN). 

This position, previously shared by countries of great importance and influence in the UN, such as the United States, Spain, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, reflects a growing international consensus that is in line with the constructive approach advocated by the MSP, which is committed to a peaceful solution to the problem of Western Sahara in which there are no winners or losers. 

Our Movement presented a roadmap at the International Conference in Dakar (2023) that envisages a process aimed at signing a political agreement with the Kingdom of Morocco with international guarantees. This agreement would recognise a Sahrawi entity with executive authority, legislative and judicial powers, as well as the necessary competences and resources, under ties of sovereignty with the King of Morocco. 

The MSP reiterates its firm willingness to participate actively in the new dynamic to achieve a political compromise on a lasting solution to the conflict in Western Sahara and the opening of a new period of peace, stability and prosperity in North-West Africa. 

In this spirit of pragmatism, the MSP calls on the other parties, and in particular the Polisario Front, to prioritise dialogue over confrontation, to respect the ceasefire and to contribute to this collective effort seeking an honourable solution for the Sahrawi people after five decades marked by exile, war and unnecessary suffering. 

The MSP remains firmly committed to a just, realistic and mutually acceptable solution that guarantees the dignity, rights and well-being of the Sahrawi people, while reaffirming its confidence in the good offices mission deployed by the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura.