The decision departs from the absence strategy adopted in 1984. Rabat can now defend its positions and develop African partnerships from within. The SADR remains an African Union member: Morocco’s return amounts neither to its expulsion nor to Moroccan recognition of its claims.
The African and UN frameworks continue to coexist. These institutional differences explain why an announcement by a state, consulate or organisation cannot be presented as a universal settlement. Countries’ positions need their precise wording and date.