This symposium, organized under the title "Territorial Autonomy Agreements: Guarantees for Implementation," brought together a select group of university professors and international experts in the field of autonomy. It also provided an opportunity to examine lessons learned from various experiences of territorial or regional autonomy and compare them with the provisions of the Moroccan autonomy initiative for the Sahara.

In his remarks on this occasion, Ambassador Omar Hilale, Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations, emphasized that this symposium is being held in an “exceptional context,” characterized by decisive historical progress on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, particularly the adoption of Resolution 2797.

Hilale noted that this resolution constitutes a historic turning point in addressing the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, given that the Security Council “unequivocally endorsed the Moroccan autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty as the sole basis for a political solution.”

The Ambassador added that this unprecedented progress represents “a clear recognition, by the highest UN body responsible for international peace and security, of the superiority, credibility, and realism of the Moroccan proposal.”

Hilale also observed that the symposium is being held four months after the Security Council adopted a new resolution on the Moroccan Sahara, highlighting the international political momentum thanks to the support of more than 130 UN member states, including three permanent members of the Security Council, for the Moroccan autonomy plan.

The diplomat also addressed the socio-economic dynamism witnessed in the southern provinces of the Kingdom thanks to major structural projects, noting that this dynamism confirms that the autonomy plan “is not a political slogan, but a concrete governance project with robust constitutional, institutional, and democratic guarantees for its implementation.”

For his part, Marc Vigneaud, Senior Advisor at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, who moderated the meeting, emphasized that the Moroccan initiative is based on negotiations among the parties concerned regarding a framework aimed at guaranteeing broad autonomy for the population of the Sahara region.

Diego Muñoz, a researcher at the Center for Research and Documentation on Oceania, presented the case of Rapa Nui, the Chilean territory also known as Easter Island, considering this experience and the Moroccan autonomy initiative as “a middle ground between full integration into the state and independence.”

He added that both approaches also place significant importance on recognizing local cultural specificities, as well as mechanisms for consultation and participation of the concerned population.

For his part, Samir El Ouardi, a professor of political science at the University of French Polynesia, considered that, unlike French Polynesia, which enjoys primarily administrative autonomy, the Moroccan initiative is “more generous,” as it grants “legislative authority to the Sahara region.”

The professor also highlighted the guarantee provided by the Moroccan initiative, which establishes political autonomy allowing this region to “affirm its identity and be fully ‘itself’ within the larger context of Morocco.”

Meanwhile, Heike Matila, a professor at the International School of Education in Geneva, praised the Moroccan initiative as “inspired by international best practices,” emphasizing in particular the constitutional entrenchment of autonomy, the United Nations’ involvement in its development, and the existence of legislative, executive, and judicial bodies specific to the region.

The Swiss academic also reviewed the growing international support for the Moroccan initiative, recalling that the Security Council, in its Resolution 2797, took note of the support expressed for this initiative as a basis for a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable settlement of the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.

For his part, Dagikhuddo Dagiev, a senior researcher at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, who presented the case of the mountainous Badakhshan region in Tajikistan, pointed out that the Moroccan initiative incorporates several “advanced characteristics of modern territorial autonomy,” particularly its constitutional entrenchment, democratic governance, fiscal powers, and the implementation of negotiated reconciliation mechanisms.

This symposium, launched in 2009, provides a framework for academic reflection aimed at highlighting, from a comparative and scientific perspective, the various dimensions of the Moroccan autonomy initiative.

Over the years, this symposium has enabled the study of autonomy from the perspectives of self-determination, human rights, governance, natural resources, investment, and linguistic and cultural dimensions. This year's discussions addressed guarantees for the implementation of territorial autonomy agreements.