The Unstoppable International Rejection of the Nonexistent "RASD"

Through this op-ed published in the Peruvian media Expreso.com.pe, former Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs and international relations expert Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Mackay comments on Panama's recent decision to suspend its relations with the noexistent "RASD".

Here is the full translation of the op-ed published in Spanish under the title:

«El imparable desconocimiento internacional de la inexistente “RASD”»

The day before yesterday, just as I set foot in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, a flash of news reached my WhatsApp inbox: a communiqué from the Republic of Panama announcing its government's decision to suspend diplomatic relations with the so-called Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, or simply "RASD." As is well known, this entity does not exist under international law and is not recognized by the United Nations. In other words, it has no legal standing and is not among the 193 member states of the UN.

Panama’s decision aligns with a growing international trend that, in recent times, has increasingly recognized, on the one hand, Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara and, on the other, fully supports Morocco’s autonomy proposal for the region, submitted to the United Nations in 2007.

It is worth emphasizing that this recent suspension of relations with the “RASD” by Panama confirms a state policy embraced by the majority of nations worldwide. This stance, consistent and aligned with international law — as was the case with Peru during my tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs — adheres to the framework established by the UN. Since the signing of the San Francisco Charter in 1945, the founding treaty of the UN, and the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the primary instrument governing relations between states, only sovereign entities enjoy the status of exclusive subjects of international law — a status the fictitious “RASD” has never even remotely possessed.

Let us not forget that the “RASD” is a creation of the Polisario Front and Algeria, which provides all the logistical support required by its leaders, who are heavily criticized and accused of various crimes. These leaders are openly dependent on financial backing from the Algerian regime, whose aim is to undermine Morocco's territorial integrity in a feverish attempt to obtain geopolitical access to the Atlantic — a strategic advantage Algeria does not have.

However, times are changing, and Algeria should adopt a more pragmatic stance in this North African region. Its persistence in supporting the nonexistent “RASD” has only exacerbated the dire situation of the Sahrawi minority still held in the Tindouf camps, deprived of any prospect of a viable future. These people watch, with a mix of frustration and despair, the prosperity of the vast majority of Sahrawis on the other side of the border, in Morocco. There, they live in peace, democratically elect their local representatives, and thrive in freedom and with a tangible quality of life — a reality I have witnessed with my own eyes — in their historical and eternal homeland.