The Communist Party of Canada strongly condemns the statement made by Foreign Minister Anita Anand regarding the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. On April 28, during a meeting with her Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, she publicly declared that “Canada [recognizes] Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara as the basis for a mutually acceptable solution and as a serious and credible initiative toward a just and lasting settlement of the conflict.”
This statement was made possible by the U.N. Security Council’s about-face, which unanimously adopted Resolution 2729 on October 31, 2025. Only Algeria boycotted this vote, which was an affront to the right to self-determination and sovereignty—and thus to the very founding principle underlying of the United Nations Charter.
Before that, Western Sahara had been internationally recognized as Africa’s last colony and had rejected the Moroccan occupation of its territory. Similarly, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Western Sahara and Rio de Oro (POLISARIO) was recognized as the sole representative of the Sahrawi people. Consequently, since 1991, the UN has organized a special mission, MINURSO, aimed at holding a referendum on the sovereignty of Western Sahara. This has been recognized until recently as the only possible and acceptable solution.
However, Morocco stalls and plays a game of hesitation to prevent such a referendum from taking place. It is colonizing Sahrawi territory, exploiting the natural and fishery resources of the occupied territory in complete violation of international law, and has even resumed the war against the Polisario Front in November 2020. Meanwhile, the Moroccan Makhzen (the ruling establishment) is stepping up its international offensives and blackmail, thereby forging alliances with the United States under Trump, Israel, Macron’s France, and even Spain—which, as a former colonial power, is recognized under international law as the country responsible for the decolonization of Western Sahara.
Instead of defending the sovereignty of the people of Western Sahara and facilitating their legitimate aspiration for the independence of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, the UN Security Council is now calling for support for a Moroccan “autonomy plan.” This fig leaf does not conceal the true objective: a plan for perpetual occupation.
It is hardly surprising that Canada is following suit. The economic stakes are too high, particularly access to Western Sahara’s phosphate reserves. Likewise, a country that refuses to recognize the existence of multiple nations within its borders—and, even more so, their right to self-determination, including secession—has no interest in guaranteeing this inalienable democratic right to some 600,000 “children of the clouds”.
As communists, we reiterate our solidarity with the POLISARIO Front and its just struggle for the liberation of Africa’s last colony, Western Sahara, and the subsequent establishment of a sovereign and independent Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. We call on all progressive, democratic, and pro-sovereignty forces to condemn the position taken by Minister Anand. Instead of promoting a plan for perpetual occupation, Canada should urge the UN to reaffirm its historic position in favor of a referendum on self-determination and thus support the decolonization of Western Sahara. We cannot accept the normalization of such a colonial occupation, which would have particularly grave implications, notably in Palestine, and would further entrench imperialist interests in the United Nations.
Long live the Polisario Front!
Long live the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic!
Central Executive Committee, Communist Party of Canada
JUST PEAce COMMITTEE 