Senate challenges House on Western Sahara dispute
Senate appropriators want to tighten restrictions on US aid to Morocco-occupied Western Sahara one year after the House first made assistance available.
A handful of senators are standing up to their House colleagues who want the United States to side with Morocco over the disputed Western Sahara.
The Senate spending panel that oversees US foreign aid has included language in its annual appropriations bill that would require the Donald Trump administration to consult with the United Nations before providing aid to Western Sahara, a contested region administered by Morocco. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, the Algerian-backed government in exile that is pushing for a long-delayed independence referendum, welcomed the Senate’s move.
“Since Morocco does not have any legitimacy in the territory, it makes sense that Congress should consult with the United Nations,” Mouloud Said, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic’s envoy to the United States, told Al-Monitor. “We are very happy for the language that was adopted by the Senate. This is the logical approach while the country still is not recognized.”
Senate appropriators released the bill last month around the time the UN appointed former German President Horst Kohler as the special envoy for Western Sahara. Kohler met with representatives of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in Algeria on Wednesday after visiting Morocco.
