President Donald Trump’sadministration is plotting one of the “most serious attempts to undermine international law” in modern history, according to one expert.
Stephen Zunes, a politics professor at the University of San Francisco, detailed a resolution that the Trump administration plans to submit to the United Nations Security Council regarding Morocco’s annexation of the Western Sahara territory. Zunes noted that the resolution includes some significant policy proposals that, taken together, amount to “a gift to Netanyahu, Putin, and any other leader seeking to expand territory by force.”
“This is one of the most serious attempts to undermine international law since the founding of the United Nations,” Zunes posted on X.
Morocco has been attempting to annex Western Sahara since the late 1970s. The country currently controls about 80% of the territory, although international bodies don’t recognize Morocco’s annexation.
The Trump administration’s proposal would remove longstanding requirements for U.N. peacekeeping forces to oversee a referendum about Morocco’s annexation, which Zunes said would negate the “right of self-determination that has long been the basis of decolonization under international law.”
The resolution also falsely claims that there is a growing consensus about Morocco’s annexation, when Zunes noted that only two far-right governments – Israel and Colombia – have recognized the move. Zunes described the argument as a “legal fiction.”
“There will certainly be objections from Pakistan, China, Russia, and perhaps some other countries which could result in changes in the language before it is put to a formal vote,” Zunes added. “However, with Washington’s history of running roughshod over international legal precedent and the failure of even democratic nations to consistently stand up to Trump’s bullying (particularly on what are considered less-consequential issues), it is hard to predict.”
“Even if the full text isn’t accepted, the Trump administration may succeed in its primary goal: to make Morocco’s autonomy proposal, which falls way short of the international definition of autonomy and would rule out the option of independence, which is required for real decolonization, recognized by the United Nations as the only basis of future negotiations,” he continued.
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