African Arguments

Top Menu

  • About Us
    • Our philosophy
  • Write for us
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter
  • RSS feed
  • Donate
  • Fellowship

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Country
    • Central
      • Cameroon
      • Central African Republic
      • Chad
      • Congo-Brazzaville
      • Congo-Kinshasa
      • Equatorial Guinea
      • Gabon
    • East
      • Burundi
      • Comoros
      • Dijbouti
      • Eritrea
      • Ethiopia
      • Kenya
      • Rwanda
      • Seychelles
      • Somalia
      • Somaliland
      • South Sudan
      • Sudan
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
      • Red Sea
    • North
      • Algeria
      • Egypt
      • Libya
      • Morocco
      • Tunisia
      • Western Sahara
    • Southern
      • Angola
      • Botswana
      • eSwatini
      • Lesotho
      • Madagascar
      • Malawi
      • Mauritius
      • Mozambique
      • Namibia
      • South Africa
      • Zambia
      • Zimbabwe
    • West
      • Benin
      • Burkina Faso
      • Cape Verde
      • Côte d’Ivoire
      • The Gambia
      • Ghana
      • Guinea
      • Guinea Bissau
      • Liberia
      • Mali
      • Mauritania
      • Niger
      • Nigeria
      • São Tomé and Príncipe
      • Senegal
      • Sierra Leone
      • Togo
  • Climate
  • Politics
    • Elections Map
  • Economy
  • Society
  • Culture
  • Specials
    • From the fellows
    • Radical Activism in Africa
    • On Food Security & COVID19
    • Think African [Podcast]
    • #EndSARS
    • Into Africa [Podcast]
    • Covid-19
    • Travelling While African
    • From the wit-hole countries…
    • Living in Translation
    • Africa Science Focus [Podcast]
    • Red Sea
    • Beautiful Game
  • Debating Ideas
  • About Us
    • Our philosophy
  • Write for us
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter
  • RSS feed
  • Donate
  • Fellowship

logo

African Arguments

  • Home
  • Country
    • Central
      • Cameroon
      • Central African Republic
      • Chad
      • Congo-Brazzaville
      • Congo-Kinshasa
      • Equatorial Guinea
      • Gabon
    • East
      • Burundi
      • Comoros
      • Dijbouti
      • Eritrea
      • Ethiopia
      • Kenya
      • Rwanda
      • Seychelles
      • Somalia
      • Somaliland
      • South Sudan
      • Sudan
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
      • Red Sea
    • North
      • Algeria
      • Egypt
      • Libya
      • Morocco
      • Tunisia
      • Western Sahara
    • Southern
      • Angola
      • Botswana
      • eSwatini
      • Lesotho
      • Madagascar
      • Malawi
      • Mauritius
      • Mozambique
      • Namibia
      • South Africa
      • Zambia
      • Zimbabwe
    • West
      • Benin
      • Burkina Faso
      • Cape Verde
      • Côte d’Ivoire
      • The Gambia
      • Ghana
      • Guinea
      • Guinea Bissau
      • Liberia
      • Mali
      • Mauritania
      • Niger
      • Nigeria
      • São Tomé and Príncipe
      • Senegal
      • Sierra Leone
      • Togo
  • Climate
  • Politics
    • Elections Map
  • Economy
  • Society
  • Culture
  • Specials
    • From the fellows
    • Radical Activism in Africa
    • On Food Security & COVID19
    • Think African [Podcast]
    • #EndSARS
    • Into Africa [Podcast]
    • Covid-19
    • Travelling While African
    • From the wit-hole countries…
    • Living in Translation
    • Africa Science Focus [Podcast]
    • Red Sea
    • Beautiful Game
  • Debating Ideas
MoroccoPoliticsWestern Sahara
Home›African Arguments›Country›North›Morocco›Why did the African Union readmit Morocco after its 33 years in the cold?

Why did the African Union readmit Morocco after its 33 years in the cold?

By Celeste Hicks
February 2, 2017
11489
4

Morocco’s readmission to the AU came on the back of a multi-faceted strategy to gain favour on the continent, particularly among West and Francophone countries.

King Mohammed VI of Morocco visits the Kigali Genocide Memorial on one of his many recent visits to sub-Saharan Africa. Credit: Kigali Genocide Memorial.

Morocco’s return to the African Union after a 33-year absence is being greeted with joy at home where it is seen as a diplomatic triumph that will help the country to regain its position as a leader on the continent. The re-admission is also seen as a personal success for King Mohammed VI, who for the last few years has been on countless visits to sub-Saharan Africa, signing nearly 1,000 co-operation agreements since 2000, and attempting to project his country as a friend and significant investor.

Speaking in Addis Ababa after the decision was taken, the King said: “It is so good to be back home, after having been away for too long. It is a good day when you can show your affection for your beloved home. Africa is my continent, and my home”.

Morocco left the predecessor of the AU, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), in 1984, in protest at the body’s recognition of the Western Sahara. Moroccan troops entered the territory in 1975 after the former colonial power Spain pulled out, sparking an independence fight which has not been resolved to this day. Whereas Morocco claims the territory is an integral part of the country, the OAU viewed its move as neo-colonial and opted to give the self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) a seat instead.

[“Only independence will restore us”: A Sahrawi refugee recalls Western Sahara’s invasion]

[40 years of hurt: The never-ending scandal of the Western Sahara]

Although the debate on Morocco’s readmission this Monday afternoon in Addis Ababa appeared to have taken place in a surprisingly short time, resulting in 39 votes in favour and nine against, observers say there were in fact a number of tense moments and obstacles to be overcome before the deal was sealed.

“There were requests for a postponement of the vote, with others proposing a committee to be first put in place to decide on the borders of Western Sahara and Morocco,” says Liesl Louw-Vaudran, a consultant at the South Africa-based Institute of Security Studies who attended the summit.

Morocco’s traditional opponents have been the AU heavyweights Algeria, which hosts tens of thousands of Sahrawi refugees and has given support to the Sahrawi independence fighters Polisario, and South Africa, which has proclaimed a strong opposition to neo-colonialism. It is thought both countries argued against Morocco’s re-admission, but according to Louw-Vaudran, diplomatic moves by AU leaders appear to have assuaged their fears. “The fact that the King was even there was a sign that Morocco was fairly confident of success,” she says.

Rejoining the union

The key to the turn-around in Morocco’s relations with the AU appears to have been its targeting of particularly West African and Francophone African countries in recent years. Moroccan companies have been on an aggressive ‘going out’ policy, from phosphate giant OCP signing deals to provide fertilisers to help African farmers, to banks such as Attijariwafa opening at least 3,500 branches across Africa, to telecoms and even car insurance companies offering new products and services.

In December, Morocco announced a joint venture with Nigeria to build a pipeline from the Niger Delta to run under the West African Atlantic coast and supply gas to a number of countries in West Africa. West African francophone countries such as Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad and Senegal were all known to have been sympathetic to Morocco’s position.

“Morocco has marketed itself as a leading investor in West Africa with a natural network of business contacts to play upon,” says Issandr El-Amrani, North Africa project director with the International Crisis Group. “This has been partly motivated by a desire to balance out Algeria’s influence – not being in the AU has deprived Morocco of a major role while Algeria has been able to increase its influence on the Peace and Security Council for example.”

Other high-profile moves, such as re-opening the investigation into the 2010 deaths of eleven members of the Moroccan security forces during the break up of a democracy protest camp at Gdim Izik outside Laayoune in the disputed territory, may have also helped convince doubters. After that incident, 24 Sahrawis were jailed by a military court in 2013 for their role in the riots that followed the intervention. But Morocco’s Court of Cassation last year ruled that conviction should be quashed and replaced with a civilian trial in which lawyers for the victims as well as international journalists and observers would be allowed for the first time. That case opened in Salé near Rabat just a week before the AU vote, although it was postponed a few days later amid bitter rows with the defence and a decision to order medical checks and call further witnesses.

Despite the undoubtable diplomatic success of rejoining the AU, many Moroccans have still been left with a bitter taste in their mouths – the SADR still has a seat in the AU and as yet there do not appear to be any concrete plans to change this. For their part, Western Saharan officials responded to Morocco’s readmission by saying it was “a chance to work together” and suggesting it would push the AU to take actions “with regard to a referendum in Western Sahara”.

Kicking out the Sahrawis was always a red line for Morocco’s detractors, and the AU leadership can be credited with avoiding a divisive vote on the issue at this time. Morocco appears to have just accepted this, at least for now – perhaps as part of an overall more conciliatory approach to the issue after its dramatic fallings out with the EU and UN in 2016.

“It was a small victory for Polisario that the King had to accept sitting down in the same room as them, something that historically Morocco has said it would never do” says Louw-Vaudran.

Celeste Hicks is a freelance journalist based in Morocco.

Previous Article

Trump’s Africa policy: Unclear and uncertain

Next Article

What does opposition leader Tshisekedi’s death mean ...

mm

Celeste Hicks

Celeste Hicks is a freelance journalist who has been writing about Chad and the Sahel for more than ten years. Previously BBC correspondent in Chad and Mali, she worked for BBC World Service African Service in London before becoming an independent journalist in 2011. She writes for BBC, the Guardian, World Politics Review, Jane’s Intelligence Review, Africa Report, Bloomberg and many others. She is the author of Africa’s New Oil: Power, Pipelines and Future Fortunes (Zed 2015).

4 comments

  1. Henry @ ISPC 6 February, 2017 at 14:36

    It’s a very positive move, especially when you look at the example set by the Moroccans over recent years and the progress they’re making in areas like energy, sustainable farming and infrastructure.

    It’s great news.

  2. HaulaVed 10 August, 2021 at 18:54

    cialis before and after pictures buy cialis online buy generic cialis online cheep cialis ’

  3. EmarfAsd 11 August, 2021 at 17:31

    viagra without prescription women on viagra how well does viagra work viagra for the brain ’

  4. EmarfAsgs 14 August, 2021 at 22:41

    zoloft for anger generic sertraline zoloft xanax alcohol and sertraline 50 mg ’

Leave a reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Politics

    Zimbabwe: The end of power sharing, the return of brute power – By Timothy Scarnecchia

  • Politics

    Five observations from this year’s Mo Ibrahim Governance report that didn’t make the headlines – By Richard Dowden

  • Athandiwe Saba - Deputy Editor Mail & Guardian, Joe Ageyo - Editorial Director at Nation Media Group, Samira Sawlani - Freelance journalist, Maria Sarungi Tsehai - Owner, Mwanzo TV, Charles Onyango Obbo - International Board Member at Article 19
    MediaOPINION

    Inclusion and Innovation Key to African Media Sustainability

Subscribe to our newsletter

Click here to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and never miss a thing!

  • 81.7K+
    Followers

Find us on Facebook

Interactive Elections Map

Keep up to date with all the African elections.

Recent Posts

  • Afrobeats: The birth of Afro-Adura
  • Sudan: How the generals disappeared the people on the way to the economy
  • Is a Peaceful Somalia Possible? Alternatives to Total War on Al-Shabaab
  • “Economic bondage”: E Africa farmers worry over what GMOs might mean
  • The unexpected success of Somalia’s new fight against Al Shabaab

Editor’s Picks

Editor's PicksPoliticsTunisia

Tunisia’s decree won’t stop fake news. It will stop free speech

President Saied is now threatening another of Tunisia’s hardest won freedoms. Following Tunisia’s revolution in 2011, which heralded uprisings across the Arab world, the country came to enjoy one of ...
  • A man in Benghazi holds a picture of King Idris in the midst of the Libyan Uprising in 2011. Credit: Maher27777

    Libya: A country in need of a king?

    By Ashraf Boudouara
    July 12, 2022
  • Nigeria LGBTQ. Uzor. Credit: Ikenna Ogbenta.

    Duped through dating apps: Queer love in the time of homophobia

    By Caleb Okereke
    March 26, 2019
  • Tunisia's President Kais Saied meeting with then US Defense Secretary Mark Esper at Carthage Palace, Tunisia, in September 2020. Credit: DoD/Lisa Ferdinando.

    Is Tunisia’s democracy slipping away?

    By Raed Ben Maaouia
    June 16, 2022
  • Egypt’s sexual revolutionaries tackling the tyranny within

    By Mona Eltahawy
    October 20, 2021

Brought to you by


Creative Commons

Creative Commons Licence
Articles on African Arguments are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
  • Cookies
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
© Copyright African Arguments 2020
By continuing to browse this site, you agree to our use of cookies.