Western Sahara: Human Rights
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Moroccan counterpart on ensuring human rights for the Sahrawi people.
Answered by Mr Hamish Falconer
The UK remains committed to the promotion and protection of human rights globally, including in Morocco and Western Sahara. Officials, including up to Ambassador level regularly engage on these issues with the Moroccan Government and authorities accordingly.
In the UK-Morocco joint communiqué, both countries reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation on human rights, our support for the principle of respect for self-determination and the intention to hold a third session of the UK-Morocco Human Rights dialogue before the end of 2025. It also expressed our shared conviction to renew efforts to support the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General in the search for a solution to the Western Sahara conflict, underlining that the only viable and durable solution will be one that is mutually acceptable to the relevant parties, and is arrived at through compromise. We welcome Morocco's stated commitment to further detail and willingness to engage in good faith with all relevant parties, to expand on details of what autonomy within the Moroccan State could entail for the region, with a view to restarting serious negotiations on terms acceptable to the parties.
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