Washington / Morocco Board News-- The Moroccan diplomacy scored a diplomatic victory by securing a seat as a non-permanent member of the 15-member United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in 2012-13. After a hotly contested vote, Morocco was able to win 151 votes out of the 194 voting UN members, well above the two-thirds required. Morocco’s seat at the UNSC is a major diplomatic opportunity for Morocco to be at the center of world event.
However, judging by the faint and idle performance of Moroccan diplomats stationed in “sensitive” world capitals, Morocco may waste this golden opportunity again unless the diplomatic culture changes in Rabat. Moroccan diplomats in New York and Rabat should wait to celebrate their “success” until Morocco term ends, hopefully with major diplomatic achievements. It is too early for the Moroccan diplomats to pat each other on the back. Winning a seat at the UNSC is the beginning of a genuine challenge to the Moroccan diplomats. The results of their efforts would determine the level of success of Morocco’s UNSC membership.
In conjunction with its seat at the UNSC, Moroccan diplomats should maximize their presence in capitals where Morocco’s position in the Western Saharan is misunderstood. The Moroccan diplomacy continues to struggle in Latin America, Scandinavia and Anglophone Africa. The absence of a clear blueprint for Moroccan diplomats on how to conquer their weak spots continues to haunt the Moroccan foreign ministry. Rabat has not learned for its past and present diplomatic mistakes.
Moroccan diplomat’s ineffective showing during the recent UN Fourth Committee meetings is a source of concern. With few exceptions, Moroccan diplomats continue to struggle in the same capitals since the eighties. While some regimes will not reverse their support of the Marxist Western Saharan Polisario guerilla, other democratic governments are more open to support the Moroccan positions if presented to them in “a comprehensive manner.”
In Africa, aside from the left leaning South Africa where Zuma swears to support his comrades of the Polisario for ideological reasons, the rest of Africa should be a fair game. Even with the Algerian diplomacy, the engine and engineer behind the Polisario, diminished stature struggling around the world because of its ambiguous support of Gaddafi, Moroccan diplomats are unable to win over African countries like Nigeria. A new approach based on the respect of African diplomats and a touch of humility will take the Moroccan diplomats along away on the African continent.
It is in Latin America where the Moroccan diplomats hold their worst record. Efforts by the Algerian-Cuban connection, which was forged in the seventies in support of the Marxists Frente Polisario, continue to pay dividends for the Algerian diplomacy. The Moroccan Foreign Ministry has been unable to win clear commitments from major Latin American powers to support Morocco’s position. Morocco’s diplomatic struggle in South and Central America is due in large to a lack of a specific Moroccan plan to deal with the particularities of the political scene in Latin countries and an absence of a hiring plan to attract, hire and support young energetic diplomats ready and willing to defend their countries ‘interest in the region. Mexico has been a sore example of Rabat diplomatic failures in Latin America.
The shortcomings of the Moroccan diplomacy in Africa and Latin America pale compared to the potential ramifications of a latent recognition of the self-proclaimed Sahara Republic by one of the Scandinavian countries. Moroccan “disorganized and reactive” diplomacy is evident in its approach in Scandinavia. Since its inception, the Polisario, backed with money from Algeria, cultivated grassroots relations with progressive youth movements and left wing organizations in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. While Morocco overlooked the importance of civil organizations in the Nordic political culture, the Polisario invested in the future socialist leaders of country like Sweden where the likely incoming ruling party harbor sympathy to the Polisario cause.
It is time for the Moroccan diplomats to be diligent as Morocco takes over its seat at the UNSC. Moroccan foreign Ministry is called on to draw plans on how to “utilize” this opportunity to serve Moroccan interests without compromising its role as a UNSC member. The Moroccan press and public will be watching the performance of their diplomats at the UN body.
By: Hassan Masiki, 11/10/11
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