Resolution1514

Fifty years ago a lengthy discussions within the special political and decolonization committee (fourth committee) of the UN General Assembly, led to the famous 1514 resolution which stipulates the necessity to end the era of colonisation, particularly in Africa and Asia Continents.

Morocco was one of the countries directly concerned by such resolution, particularly if we take into account the fact that the decolonization of Morocco, which was progressively despoiled of territories that had always belonged to it by various Franco-Spanish treaties drawn up between 1886 and 1912, necessarily implied their return to Moroccan unity in accordance with the terms of resolution 1514 of 14 December 1960.

Five years after the approval of 1514 resolution by the UN general Assembly, a UN declaration 2625 ( XXV) was made during the 1883rd plenary meeting on the 24th October 1970 ,on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

This particular declaration emphasizing the extreme importance of the “UN charter for the maintenance of peace and security and for the development of friendly relations and co-operation among states», and also “ convinced that the strict observance by states of the obligation not to intervene in the affairs of any other state is an essential condition to ensure that nations live together in peace with one  another, since the practice of any form of intervention not only violates the spirit and letter of the charter, but also leads to the creation of situations which threaten international peace and security”. 

Some neighbouring countries, in addition to those opposed to the unity of Morocco, continue not only to ignore the spirit of both resolution 1514 , and declaration 2625 but also to invoke the right to self-determination of the population of Western Sahara in an attempt to prevent Morocco’s national reunification.

When referring to the United Nations resolution 1514 concerning the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples,  the UN recognize two different decolonization problems; that of territories which at the time of colonization had no international juridical status to which the procedure providing for self-determination and independence applies, and other territories constituting an integral part of a state.

This is clearly the case of Western Sahara, simply because the legal ties between the Kingdom of Morocco and Western Sahara went back to centuries. In fact the Sultans of Morocco legislated for the provinces of Western Sahara, as they did for the rest of the Moroccan territory.

This legislation took the form of dahirs (decrees) and extended to economic activity through the control of trade and production, in particular as regard to fishing, the monopoly on which was generally reserved for the subjects of the Sultan except in cases of special concessions to foreigners.

It also extended to the administration of the ports, in order to open or close them to foreign trade according to the requirements of national policy.  Historical facts, and international documents among others the “agreement between the British and Moorish governments, respecting the purchase by Morocco of the property of North West Africa company in  Terfaya ( signed March 13, 1895) clearly prove  that the European colonial powers recognize two principles in the international law i.e.: the sovereignty of Morocco over its territories including the Sahara region , and also the principle of Moroccan people from up north to the southern part of the kingdom towards to the borders with Mauritania.

In practical terms Moroccan people all over the kingdom of Morocco including Sahraouis have fought for decades for the reunification of their country. Unfortunately a small group of sahraoui separatists have been supported by some neighbour countries in order to create a tension in the region , and stop the process of reunification of the kingdom of Morocco.

Going back to the UN general assembly resolutions as from the beginning of sixties, once finds out easily that all resolutions had required from Spain to deal directly with the kingdom of Morocco in order to decolonize the Sahara region .Within the same framework, Morocco did not spare any efforts to claim this region from the Spanish colonizer just after its incomplete independence in 1956. 

Starting from the historical speech of late King Mohamed V in 1958, who made it clear that his kingdom will carry on claiming the return of the Sahara to the homeland. This speech was followed in 1960 by a Moroccan delegation led by the then crown prince Moulay Hassan to the UN general assembly meeting where the Moroccan delegation put forward an official request to the UN concerning the necessity of decolonizing the Sahara, and also its obvious return to Morocco.

It is equally known in the modern history of Morocco that a big number of Sahraouis who have fought against the presence of the Spanish colonization of the Sahara, have been pushed to flee  to other Moroccan towns particularly Sidi Ifni, and Tarfaya which are geographically speaking a continuation of the Sahara region colonized by Spain…..taking into consideration historical facts mentioned above , the 1514 UN resolution needs a thorough reading in order to reach the conclusion that any disruption of national unity is incompatible with the charter of the UN ,  Paragraph 6 of the resolution in question states the following :  “any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the purpose and principles of the charter of the United Nations”.

This is in no doubt the case of Morocco which was colonized by two main colonising powers ( French and Spain), and had to fight for decades for its national integrity against the European invaders.