A Greenlandic lesson for Western Sahara

However, Greenland's experience shows that it is possible to combine a distinctive cultural identity with effective autonomy within a broader state framework. 

This experience offers valuable insights for imagining, with realism and courage, a way out of a crisis that has been going on for more than half a century.

Greenland's model of autonomy within the unitary state that is the Kingdom of Denmark — a system that also successfully integrates another, even more advanced example of self-government in the Faroe Islands — is not proposed as a mechanical copy.

The historical, cultural and geopolitical differences are obvious, but this reference point is inspiring because it highlights two fundamental principles: political maturity as an antidote to exclusionary nationalism, and advanced autonomy as a path to reconciliation and lasting stability.

The image of the Danish Prime Minister and the Greenlandic Prime Minister sharing a podium to jointly address external challenges — including the United States' well-known expressions of interest in the island — symbolises a modern and serene form of shared sovereignty. Even the dispatch of their respective foreign ministers on joint missions illustrates a cooperative approach that is unusual in classic territorial conflicts.

These gestures do not reflect weakness, but institutional strength. Denmark, as a unitary state, does not perceive the affirmation of Greenlandic identity as a threat, but rather as an integrated and dignified element within a common project. Greenland, for its part, exercises real self-government, with substantial powers in areas such as natural resources, education and culture, and shapes its future through dialogue and negotiation, not confrontation. This gives rise to a principle that can be applied to other contexts: broad autonomy, conceived not as an insurmountable ceiling, but as a solid foundation on which to build coexistence, trust and prosperity.

This raises a legitimate question: could Morocco, also a unitary state and a central and unavoidable player in this equation, fit into and lead a model of this nature? Raising this question does not imply underestimating the Kingdom's institutional evolution or its capacity for adaptation. On the contrary, the reforms undertaken in recent decades and the political stability achieved under the reign of Mohammed VI offer a solid basis for imagining an advanced autonomy status for the Sahara that could become a regional benchmark.

This would mean taking the initiative presented in 2007 to its maximum expression: an autonomous Sahrawi government with broad legislative and executive powers, effective economic management capacity within a framework of cooperation with the State, and full respect for the Sahrawi cultural identity as a collective reality and political subject — not merely as a geographical or demographic category.

Such a formula would demonstrate Morocco's confidence in the soundness of its own national project, which is robust enough to integrate—and even be enriched by—a distinctive uniqueness. The shared aspiration for peace, development and normality in the southern provinces could thus find stable and credible institutional expression.

Since its inception, the Movement Saharawi for Peace (MSP) has advocated for a solution without winners or losers. At the same time, we have warned against the risks of replicating failed formulas in other contexts, such as those experienced in Eritrea, South Sudan, or Iraqi Kurdistan at certain historical stages.

For this reason, we believe that a model inspired by successful experiences within unitary states, such as Greenland (and, within the same Danish system, the Faroe Islands), or others such as present-day Iraqi Kurdistan or the autonomous regions of Catalonia and the Basque Country — accompanied by clear international guarantees and a rigorous implementation mechanism — meets the real conditions for definitively ending the crisis. It would offer the Sahrawi population what it legitimately aspires to: effective self-government, political dignity, economic development and a stable future. At the same time, it would preserve Morocco's territorial integrity and open up new opportunities for regional cooperation in the Maghreb and the Sahel.

There are undoubtedly important historical differences, but there are also elements of the current context that persuade and invite us to explore such a formula as soon as possible: the persistence of a latent armed conflict, the continued presence of the Sahrawi issue on the agenda of the Security Council and the Fourth Committee of the UN, and the continuation of a peace operation such as MINURSO. The latter highlights the unfinished nature of the process and, whether due to its mere prolongation or to a frequently biased and selective interpretation, fuels radical independence movements.

Faced with a generous, credible and internationally guaranteed proposal, one might wonder what objective reasons could justify the indefinite prolongation of the conflict. Algeria, a strategic partner and essential neighbour, could find in this framework an opportunity to move from a logic of rivalry to one of trilateral cooperation in such sensitive areas as security, energy and development in the Sahel, thus becoming a key player in the settlement and a guarantor of regional stability.

For the MSP, the Polisario Front and the Sahrawi people as a whole, it would also open up the historic possibility of transforming decades of struggle into a project of responsible and constructive government, within a framework of peace and supervised international legality.

You don't have to be Danish or Greenlandic to understand this lesson. All you need is a pragmatic outlook and courageous political will. The experience of the Inuit communities in Greenland, which have managed to combine their own cultural identity with effective self-government within a unitary state, offers valuable lessons on advanced autonomy and institutional cooperation. The model demonstrates that high politics consists precisely in overcoming the burdens of 20th-century exclusionary nationalism in order to design solutions appropriate to the 21st century: more inclusive, cooperative and oriented towards the well-being of peoples.

The Maghreb can hardly afford to remain trapped in a conflict that limits its integration, weakens its security and holds back its economic and human potential. Advanced autonomy within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty, following the logic of flexible integration that has worked in unitary states such as Denmark, with its models of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, should not be interpreted as a concession, but as a strategic investment in peace, stability and a shared future for the next generations. This is perhaps the true definition of the maturity and political will needed to end the long and painful conflict in Western Sahara.

Hach Ahmed Bericalla, First Secretary of the Movement Saharawi for Peace (MSP)