The Western Sahara: Ripe For Political Solution?
AMI & Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), New York, May 2004Following the Sahara Resolution debated at the United Nations in April 2004, the American Moroccan Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations organized a high-level panel to raise international awareness about the Sahara conflict and its implications for the countries of North Africa. Entitled "The Western Sahara: Ripe for Political Solution?," this co-sponsored panel brought together distinguished academics, ambassadors, UN dignitaries, government officials, and international media to debate a peaceful and political solution to the question of the Sahara. This was the first time an event of such magnitude and political interest was co-sponsored by non-profit organizations in the United States. Judging from the topics presented at the panel, the participants demonstrated that a genuine political solution to the Sahara issue would bring more peace and prosperity to the Maghreb region, enabling North African countries to revive their projects of unification and meet the challenges of globalization.
The conference was opened by Dr. Mokhtar Ghambou, President of AMI and professor at Yale University. Ms. Anna Theofilopoulou, the Acting chief of Decolonization Unit at the UN Secretariat discussed the role of the UN in the Sahara conflict. From an economic perspective, Akharali Thobhani, professor of International and Middle Eastern Studies at the Metropolitan State College of Denver, focused on the social and political transformations of the Western Sahara under Moroccan administration. In conclusion, Professor William Zartman, Director of Conflict Management Program at the John Hopkins University, explained the meaning of political "ripeness" and the possibilities of finding the "middle ground" in the Sahara conflict. The panel was moderated by Princeton N. Lyman, Senior Fellow & Director of Africa Studies at the Council On Foreign Relations.