PUSL.- The Spanish government still does not want to assume its responsibility in the conflict in Western Sahara. His position continues to be that of washing his hands of the matter and making empty statements of content, deriving all responsibility for the resolution of the conflict to the United Nations.
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Arancha González Laya, in response to the political analyst David Jimenez, in the TVE program “La noche 24 horas”, has refused to comment on whether the arrival of John Biden to the White House will help reverse the United States Government’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the former Spanish colony, stating that “I am not going to play that game, it is a decision that corresponds to the United States and Spain, will neither add nor contribute to that discussion ”
The person in charge of foreign affairs has limited herself to repeating the usual discourse of the Spanish administration with which they intend to evade all responsibility, pretending to show that the United Nations must take on the task of finding a solution to this conflict.
“What Spain insists, beyond the decision that the United States makes, that what President Trump has made and whatever President Biden does, is the need to revive the process at the United Nations,” she said.
“What we clearly believe is the need to revive this procedure, which is legitimate because it is in the UN, because everyone is sitting around the table to be able to resolve this issue, which has not been solved for many years,” she alleged
It should be remembered that Spain is directly responsible and guilty of the current situation in Western Sahara. Spain was the colonising power for almost a century and led to the signing of the 1975 Madrid Tripartite Agreements, which made possible the illegal occupation of Western Sahara. During the more than 40 years of occupation, no Spanish government has denounced this situation or denounced the continuous violation of human rights in the territories occupied by Morocco. Instead, it has promoted initiatives to favor the Moroccan occupier such as signing preferential agreements with the EU.
Spain continues to be the administering power of the territory.
The United Nations considers the Madrid Agreement invalid: Spain could not transfer sovereignty to Morocco and Mauritania, and therefore the transfer of administration does not alter the status of the territory pending decolonisation of Western Sahara. Therefore, the United Nations considers that Spain is the administering power “de jure”, despite the fact that Morocco exercises control over the territory “de facto”, and that it continues to have the obligation to guarantee the decolonisation of the colony.
