Morocco’s Commitment for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Sahara.

Despite this situation, Morocco continued to show its commitment for a peaceful solution to the extent of proposing, in the Summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), held in Nairobi in 1981, the organization of a referendum to put an end to the fake regional dispute created in this respect. However, when the OAU admitted within its organs, a “Saharan Republic” based in the Algerian territory of Tindouf, Morocco had to withdraw from the regional Organization.

In view of the failure in reaching an African solution, Morocco simply resorted to the United Nations to entrust the Organization with finding a solution to the dispute. UN efforts materialized in the settlement plan of 1990 that included a cease-fire and the organization of a referendum to choose between staying under Moroccan sovereignty or independence.

The Settlement Plan faced difficulties in the implementation of its main provisions, starting with the identification process that constitutes the essential element. Despite successive adjustments made to the Plan on the technical level, it proved to be inoperative.

These difficulties were identified by the UN Secretary General and his Personal Envoy in the report dated 12 July, 2000. These difficulties are mainly related to the following :

• The identification of persons not yet auditioned by MINURSO
• The conduct of the appeals procedure
• The reinstatement of 7000 Moroccan candidates approved and then withdrawn from the provisional voting list into their right to participate in the referendum
• The enforcement of the referendum results
• The implementation of the code of conduct to be respected during the referendum campaign
• The requirement of concordance in testimonies by Shiukh (tribal leaders) representing Morocco and Polisario
• Marginalizing oral testimony as a proof while the Settlement Plan itself deems it of equal force as Spanish documents for the purposes of identification and appeals
• The repatriation of refugees

Since the launching of this plan, Morocco took all the measures to implement it in good faith, cooperating unreservedly with MINURSO and providing the latter with the necessary means to discharge its mission.