Sahara : The AUSACO conference advocates for redefining the UN's approach

Participants in the second Policy Conference of the Coalition for Autonomy in the Sahara (AUSACO), held Tuesday in Dakhla, called for a redefinition of the United Nations' approach to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, in light of evolving geopolitical dynamics.
In their final statement, known as the Dakhla Declaration, AUSACO members emphasized the need for a renewed understanding of the issue's parameters. They reaffirmed the Moroccan autonomy plan as the only serious and credible basis for resolving the conflict, underscored growing international support for Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara, and highlighted Algeria's central role in perpetuating the dispute.
Participants praised Morocco's ongoing efforts under the New Development Model for the Southern Provinces, which aims to transform the region into a strategic hub connecting Morocco with Africa and beyond.
They also commended King Mohammed VI for key continental and regional initiatives, notably the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, the Royal Atlantic Initiative, and the Atlantic seaboard development project.
«All of these Royal initiatives are part of a strategic vision to position the Moroccan Sahara as a platform for security, stability, and shared development across the Atlantic, the Sahara, Africa, and the Mediterranean», the Declaration stated.
AUSACO members expressed satisfaction with the peace, stability, and development prevailing in Morocco's Southern Provinces, and highlighted the opening of 32 consulates general in Laâyoune and Dakhla by countries from every continent—underscoring what they described as the irreversible momentum behind international recognition of Moroccan sovereignty.
Reiterating their firm support for Morocco's territorial integrity, AUSACO members from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America called on countries that have not yet done so to join the 116 nations that have expressed clear support for the Moroccan autonomy initiative.
The Dakhla Declaration, read by Ismail Buchanan, also urged Algeria to assume its historical responsibilities and fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law, in order to end the ongoing lawlessness in the Tindouf camps located on Algerian soil.
In this context, Coalition members advocated for the dignified return of the populations held in these camps to their homeland, Morocco, and called for Algeria's constructive engagement in the UN-led political process, in a spirit of realism and compromise.

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