Former Moroccan minister says return to African Union does not mean recognition of Western Sahara

The ex-Foreign Minister of Morocco, Saad Eddine Othmani, said on Thursday that parliament’s adoption of the African Union Charter as a prelude to rejoining the bloc after 32 years does not mean Moroccan recognition of Western Sahara. His country’s return to the AU is not a tactical decision, added Othmani, but a continuation of Morocco’s African policy.

The head of the Justice and Development Party’s group of MPs in the Moroccan Parliament explained that being in the AU will allow Rabat to fight for its national causes from within the organisation.

The House of Representatives’ Committees for Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Islamic Affairs and Moroccans Living Abroad adopted a bill unanimously on Wednesday signalling the approval of the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU), signed on 11 July, 2000, in Lomé, and the Additional Protocol, adopted on 3 February, 2003 in Addis Ababa and 11 July, 2003 in Maputo.

The adoption of the Act is part of the implementation of the royal decree, announced by King Mohammed VI in his address to the 27th African Summit, held in Kigali last July, to join the AU.