Albares invokes the UN to defend Spain’s position on Western Sahara in Congress

Eduardo González The appearance of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, before the plenary session of Congress to report on Spain's foreign policy “in defense of peace, international law, and multilateralism,” ended up becoming, among other things, a new example of the strong differences that exist between the PSOE and the other parties, including SUMAR, regarding Western Sahara. The debate took place this Wednesday, December 10, just one week after the thirteenth High-Level Meeting (HLM) between Spain and Morocco, held in Madrid. Only ministers from the PSOE (including Albares) participated, while members of Sumar were absent. At the HLM, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez reiterated “Spain’s position on the Western Sahara issue” and expressed his “satisfaction” with the recent United Nations Security Council resolution that defends the proposed autonomy “under Moroccan sovereignty” as the “most feasible solution” to the conflict. Apart from explaining Spain's foreign policy at his own request, Albares' appearance had also been requested by the Euskal Herria Bildu, Republican and Mixed Parliamentary Groups to explain the Government's position on the UN resolutions relating to Western Sahara and its involvement in "the Moroccan occupation and the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people". In his opening remarks, Albares asserted that “Spanish foreign policy acts and will continue to act in favor of peace, acts and will continue to act in defense of human rights, acts and will continue to act in favor of understanding and international law, and this is recognized by all our friends and partners around the world.” “These are the values of the Spanish people, these are the values we defend in Palestine and the Middle East, in the war of aggression against Ukraine, in the defense of the United Nations system,” he added. In his speech, Albares dedicated some words to the “relations of friendship and cooperation” with Morocco, which “since 2022” have continued “to strengthen and advance” in matters of security, mobility, migration, trade, culture, and the economy. “In the Sahara, an unresolved issue that has lasted 50 years, we cannot allow another half-century like this,” he warned. “We firmly and unequivocally support the United Nations, whose Security Council recently adopted resolution 27-97, with eleven votes in favor, three abstentions, and no votes against. Spain welcomed this resolution, which, and I quote verbatim, ‘expresses its full support for the work of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to facilitate and hold negotiations, on the basis of Morocco’s proposal for autonomy, with a view to achieving a solution to the dispute that is just, lasting, and acceptable to all parties, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, and welcomes any constructive suggestions from the parties in response to the proposal for autonomy.’” “As you can see, this resolution, which I have quoted verbatim, adopted by an overwhelming majority of the United Nations Security Council without any votes against, fully confirms Spain’s position in accordance with international law and the United Nations,” he added. Floriano (PP) For his part, the spokesperson for the People's Party (PP) on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Congress, Carlos Floriano, asked Albares not to make "partial interpretations" of the 27/97 United Nations Security Council resolution, which, he reminded Albares, mentions the "right to self-determination," despite the fact that "you are trying to mislead I don't know exactly whom." According to the PP MP, the government's "Copernican shift" regarding Western Sahara "was made without the knowledge of Congress, without a phone call, without a consultation, without dialogue, without conversation, without an appearance." "We don't know, to this day, what prompted the change; I imagine that the UCO (Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard) will soon let us know or shed some light on the matter," he stated. "The lack of transparency and secrecy are constants in the relationship with Morocco, secrecy that reached its peak at last week's High-Level Meeting, the first in history held without a press conference," he denounced. “You are approaching Morocco from a place of weakness; you have capitulated and abandoned the Sahrawi people,” Floriano asserted. “You say you accept the Moroccan autonomy plan as the most serious, realistic, and credible basis, but if this plan is serious, if it is realistic, why has the UN mission for the referendum in Western Sahara been prolonged?” he asked. Tesh Sidi (Sumar) The most forceful intervention, in this regard, was that of Teslem Andala Ubbi (better known as Tesh Sidi, born in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf), from Sumar, who rebuked Albares for having spoken “for almost an hour and a half about Ukraine, about Palestine” and having made “scarce mention of Western Sahara.” “We Sahrawis do not compete with oppressed peoples. We want the same for them, but also for ourselves.” “We don’t talk about selective international law, nor do we talk about economic interests that undermine international law,” she continued. The Sumar parliamentarian read “a text taken directly from the Socialist Party’s 2019 electoral program,” which advocates for “a solution to the Western Sahara conflict through compliance with the resolutions of indigenous nations that guarantee the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination,” “human rights monitoring,” and support for “dialogue between Morocco and the Polisario Front with the participation of Mauritania and Algeria, key partners of Spain.” “Minister, what has changed between 2019 and 2022?” she asked. “Minister, you have spoken of respect for international law and the courts, but I see that you do not respect the European Court of Justice ruling regarding the natural resources of the people of Western Sahara,” she denounced. “We welcome these positions on Ukraine and Palestine, but what about the Sahrawi refugees?” she insisted. Albares' responses In his response to the PP, Albares recalled that “every Prime Minister, every single one, and every Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain in the democratic era has stated that Morocco is the top priority of Spanish foreign policy.” Regarding the Sahara, he continued, “the words I read are not mine; they are from the United Nations Security Council, and are shared by the majority of the international community.” “That resolution is not Spain's position, which has also been clear since 2022; it is a clear position, and it was voted in favor by France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Somalia—very diverse countries, many of them from our region—while China, Russia, and Pakistan abstained,” he noted. Are all these diverse countries really wrong? And since you were talking about Spain's position, Spain's position is more or less similar—although some go further—to that of France, Belgium, Portugal, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. Are they all wrong?” Albares insisted. “The first priority of a Foreign Minister is a good relationship with Morocco. I have an excellent one. And don't spread, don't try to spread ideas, hoaxes, rumors about our relationship with Morocco and our position on the Sahara, which is public and well known,” the minister added, addressing Floriano and without making any mention, not even to reply, of Tesh Sidi's intervention from Sumar.

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