Adala UK expresses its profound concern and disappointment regarding the recent public endorsement by South Africa’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, led by former President Jacob Zuma, of Morocco’s so-called Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara. This position represents a deeply regrettable departure from South Africa’s longstanding support for the inalienable right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence a right firmly enshrined in international law and foundational to global decolonisation efforts.

A Dangerous Contradiction: From Anti-Apartheid to Pro-Occupation

South Africa’s struggle against apartheid is a powerful symbol of resistance to systemic injustice and colonial oppression. For decades, the South African liberation movement, led by the African National Congress (ANC) and supported by solidarity networks across the world including Morocco called for unwavering international support against the apartheid regime. That same moral clarity and commitment to international legality should now extend to the Saharawi people of Western Sahara, who remain Africa’s last colony under foreign military occupation.

Former President Zuma’s statements, made following a meeting with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, abandon this legacy. By praising Morocco’s autonomy plan and recognizing its alleged “sovereignty” over Western Sahara, Zuma and the MK Party have aligned themselves with a narrative that whitewashes decades of military occupation, forced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and systematic human rights abuses committed by Moroccan authorities against Saharawi civilians.

This stance not only contradicts the legacy of South Africa’s own liberation but also undermines the principles of international solidarity for oppressed peoples. During apartheid, South Africans called for international sanctions, isolation of the apartheid regime, and recognition of the African people’s right to govern themselves. The Saharawi people are calling for the same today.

Western Sahara: A Matter of International and European Law

The legal status of Western Sahara is unequivocal. Since 1963, the United Nations has recognized it as a Non-Self-Governing Territory. In 1975, the International Court of Justice ruled that no legal ties of sovereignty existed between Morocco and Western Sahara that would alter the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination.

Furthermore, in a landmark decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Front Polisario v. Council of the EU (2016 and reaffirmed in 2021) the Court ruled that Western Sahara is a separate and distinct territory from the Kingdom of Morocco, and that no agreement between the EU and Morocco can lawfully be applied to Western Sahara without the express consent of the Saharawi people, as represented by the Polisario Front.

This legal precedent reinforces what the United Nations and the African Union have repeatedly affirmed: Morocco has no legal sovereignty over Western Sahara, and its occupation is in violation of international law.

The so-called Moroccan Autonomy Plan, promoted as a “practical solution,” is not a substitute for a free and fair referendum on independence. The plan effectively cements Morocco’s illegal occupation and denies the Saharawi people their fundamental right to determine their political future. It is a unilateral proposal that contradicts the UN Charter, multiple UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, and the legal opinions of international and European courts.

Human Rights Abuses: Well-Documented and Ongoing

From Adala UK’s own archives and independent UN reports, the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara is marked by ongoing and grave human rights violations:

• Arbitrary Arrests and Torture: Saharawi activists and journalists are routinely detained and subjected to torture. The cases of Hussein Bachir Amadour, Mohamed Lamin Haddi, and others illustrate the brutal repression of dissenting voices.
• Suppression of Free Expression and Assembly: Peaceful protests in El Aaiún and other occupied cities are regularly met with violent crackdowns. Moroccan authorities systematically prevent foreign observers and journalists from entering the territory.
• Surveillance and Intimidation: Human rights defenders and their families are targeted, monitored, and harassed by Moroccan intelligence forces.
• Discrimination and Economic Marginalisation: Indigenous Saharawis face structural exclusion from education, employment, and public services in favor of Moroccan settlers.

To ignore these abuses while promoting Morocco’s “peace and development” narrative is to participate in a dangerous form of denialism.

An Appeal to the People of South Africa

Adala UK warmly welcomes the statement issued by the South African Solidarity Movement for Western Sahara (SASOMWESA). It is a clear and principled reaffirmation of solidarity with the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination and a strong rejection of Morocco’s illegal occupation. Adala UK calls upon the people of South Africa, and particularly its progressive civil society, to reflect on the meaning of solidarity and justice. The fight against apartheid was never just a domestic issue it was part of a global movement against racism, colonialism, and oppression. That same spirit must guide South Africa’s position on Western Sahara.

Supporting the Saharawi cause is not only about aligning with international law; it is about standing on the right side of history. Just as South Africans once called upon the world to boycott, divest from, and sanction the apartheid regime, today the Saharawi people ask the world to recognize their right to independence and to reject the policies of occupation and annexation.

Jacob Zuma and the MK Party have chosen to align themselves with an occupying power. But the people of South Africa can still choose otherwise.

Uphold Justice, Not Expediency

No political or economic “strategic partnership” should override the foundational principles of human rights and international law. The Saharawi people are entitled to the same dignity, freedom, and sovereignty that South Africans demanded and won. To suggest otherwise is not just a political miscalculation it is a betrayal of the values for which so many fought and died.

Adala UK reaffirms its commitment to working alongside the Saharawi people, human rights defenders, and all those who believe in justice and the rule of law. We call on the MK Party to reconsider its position, and for South Africa to reassert its leadership in the global struggle for decolonisation beginning with the only remaining African colony: Western Sahara.

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Contact:
Adala UK
www.adalauk.org
info@adalauk.org
Twitter: @AdalaUK
London, United Kingdom

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