Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs
Encyclopedia
The Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs or Corcas, from the French
abbreviation of Conseil royal consultatif pour les affaires sahariennes, is an advisory committee to the Moroccan
government on the Western Sahara
. It was originally devised by King Hassan II in the 1970s , but allowed to lapse. It was re-established by his son, Mohammed VI in early 2006, after a new autonomy plan was devised to replace the United Nations
' Baker Plan
. The autonomy plan is opposed by the Polisario Front
, which demands that the United Nations resolutions
calling for a referendum
be implemented.
, but also to defend the kingdom
's annexation of Western Sahara in the media and abroad. The Council is also intended to facilitate dialogue with the Sahrawi in the refugee camp
s of Tindouf
, Algeria
.
) notables (sheikh
s), elected representatives for women and youth groups and civic society officials. The members are appointed by the Moroccan government and support the Moroccan claims
on Western Sahara. Of these members 14 (10%) are women . Notably, the father of Polisario leader Mohamed Abdelaziz
is a member of the CORCAS.
Its chairman, Khelli Henna Ould Rachid
, is a former leader of the PUNS, a now-defunct political party
operated by the Spanish
colonial
government to rally support for its rule in the Spanish Sahara
in the 1970s. After the departure of the Spanish
in 1975, which caused the dissolution of the PUNS, he became a defender of Morocco's annexation of the former colony, and a figurehead
for the Moroccan government's rule in the Western Sahara.
There are nine vice-presidents: Khedad Moussaoui, Hassan Derham, Abdelaziz Abba, Omar Bouida, Ali Salem Chekaf, Othmane Ila, Hassana Cherif, Brika Zerouali and Kaltoum Khyate.
CORCAS set up five commissions, envisaged by its statutes,
of the People's Republic of China
president, the former French
foreign minister, and various other international officials .
The chairman of Corcas as well as the Secretary General, Dr Maouelainin Ben Khalihenna Maouelainin, are the spokesman of the Moroccan delegation in Manhassett talks under the supervision of the personal envoy of the Secretary General of the UN.
Khellihenna Ould Rachid declared:
In an interview with the independent Moroccan weekly magazine Le Journal Hebdomadaire
, CORCAS member El Houcine Baïda a former victim of human rights abuses by the Polisario, and head of PASVERTI Association of Sahrawi victims of repression in the Tindouf Camps, as chairman of the Human Rights Commission within CORCAS, complained about the lack of tackling human rights issues, and about the way CORCAS president Khellihenna runs the Council. In his opinion, the country's actions in the Western Sahara were alienating Sahrawis, and thus could push more youth towards separatism
. He further claimed that most of the organization's members were allowed no knowledge of the government's autonomy plan - that they were supposedly responsible for drafting - and that CORCAS chairman Khellihenna Ould Errachid runs the council's affairs despotically, like "a new Franco
".
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
abbreviation of Conseil royal consultatif pour les affaires sahariennes, is an advisory committee to the Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
government on the Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
. It was originally devised by King Hassan II in the 1970s , but allowed to lapse. It was re-established by his son, Mohammed VI in early 2006, after a new autonomy plan was devised to replace the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
' Baker Plan
Baker Plan
The Baker Plan is a United Nations initiative to grant self-determination to Western Sahara...
. The autonomy plan is opposed by the Polisario Front
Polisario Front
The POLISARIO, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro is a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement working for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco...
, which demands that the United Nations resolutions
United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara
MINURSO is the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara. The name is a French acronym for "Mission des Nations Unies pour l'Organisation d'un Référendum au Sahara Occidental" — United Nations Mission for the organization of a Referendum in Western Sahara.-Purpose of the mission:MINURSO...
calling for a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
be implemented.
Mission
The CORCAS is intended as a consultative body for proposals related to what Morocco calls its Southern ProvincesSouthern Provinces
The Southern Provinces or Moroccan Sahara are the terms used by Morocco for Western Sahara, in reference to the part of Western Sahara that lies to the west of the Moroccan Berm...
, but also to defend the kingdom
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
's annexation of Western Sahara in the media and abroad. The Council is also intended to facilitate dialogue with the Sahrawi in the refugee camp
Refugee camp
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees. Hundreds of thousands of people may live in any one single camp. Usually they are built and run by a government, the United Nations, or international organizations, or NGOs.Refugee camps are generally set up in an impromptu...
s of Tindouf
Tindouf Province
Tindouf, also written Tinduf, is the westernmost province of Algeria, having a population of 58,193 as of the 2008 census. Despite the barren landscape, Tindouf is a resource-rich province, with important quantities of iron ore located in the Gara Djebilet area close to the border with Mali...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
.
Composition
The 141 members of CORCAS are Moroccan and Sahrawi political and traditional (tribalTribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
) notables (sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
s), elected representatives for women and youth groups and civic society officials. The members are appointed by the Moroccan government and support the Moroccan claims
Cause of action
In the law, a cause of action is a set of facts sufficient to justify a right to sue to obtain money, property, or the enforcement of a right against another party. The term also refers to the legal theory upon which a plaintiff brings suit...
on Western Sahara. Of these members 14 (10%) are women . Notably, the father of Polisario leader Mohamed Abdelaziz
Mohamed Abdelaziz
Mohamed Abdelaziz is the 3rd and current Secretary General of the Polisario Front and President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic since 1976...
is a member of the CORCAS.
Its chairman, Khelli Henna Ould Rachid
Khelli Henna Ould Rachid
Khelli Henna Ould Rachid is the Sahrawi chairman of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs , a Moroccan government body active in the disputed region of Western Sahara.-Under Spain:...
, is a former leader of the PUNS, a now-defunct political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
operated by the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
government to rally support for its rule in the Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara was the name used for the modern territory of Western Sahara when it was ruled as a territory by Spain between 1884 and 1975...
in the 1970s. After the departure of the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 1975, which caused the dissolution of the PUNS, he became a defender of Morocco's annexation of the former colony, and a figurehead
Figurehead (metaphor)
In politics, a figurehead is a person who holds de jure an important title or office yet de facto executes little actual power, most commonly limited by convention rather than law. The metaphor derives from the carved figurehead at the prow of a sailing ship...
for the Moroccan government's rule in the Western Sahara.
There are nine vice-presidents: Khedad Moussaoui, Hassan Derham, Abdelaziz Abba, Omar Bouida, Ali Salem Chekaf, Othmane Ila, Hassana Cherif, Brika Zerouali and Kaltoum Khyate.
CORCAS set up five commissions, envisaged by its statutes,
- the commission for social affairs, human development and the environment;
- the commission for external affairs and cooperation;
- the commission for the defense of human rights, public freedoms and the populations of the camps;
- the commission for economic affairs, education and training;
- and the commission for the promotion of the Hassanie culture, information and communication.
International activities
The CORCAS leadership travels extensively and is regularly featured in the Moroccan press. Its chairman, Khellihenna Ould Errachid, regularly attends meetings in foreign forums, such as the UN, where the Sahara question is discussed. Among others, the CORCAS president has met with the PresidentPresident of the People's Republic of China
The President of the People's Republic of China is a ceremonial office and a part of State organs under the National People's Congress and it is the head of state of the People's Republic of China . The office was created by the 1982 Constitution...
of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
president, the former French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
foreign minister, and various other international officials .
The chairman of Corcas as well as the Secretary General, Dr Maouelainin Ben Khalihenna Maouelainin, are the spokesman of the Moroccan delegation in Manhassett talks under the supervision of the personal envoy of the Secretary General of the UN.
Criticism
In 2008, the head of CORCAS & former leader of the PUNSPuns
Puns may refer to:*Partido de Unión Nacional Saharaui, the Sahrawi political party* Pun, figure of speech* Phoenicians...
Khellihenna Ould Rachid declared:
- "Some Moroccan army officers have made what might be called war crimes against prisoners outside the scope of the war ...Many civilians were launched into space from helicopters or buried alive simply for being Sahrawis".
In an interview with the independent Moroccan weekly magazine Le Journal Hebdomadaire
Le Journal Hebdomadaire
Le Journal Hebdomadaire , was a French language, Moroccan weekly magazine, published between 1997 and 2010 . It had an Arabic language counterpart called Assahifa Al Ousbouia.-Background:It is privately owned, and has an independent and critical editorial line against the Moroccan government...
, CORCAS member El Houcine Baïda a former victim of human rights abuses by the Polisario, and head of PASVERTI Association of Sahrawi victims of repression in the Tindouf Camps, as chairman of the Human Rights Commission within CORCAS, complained about the lack of tackling human rights issues, and about the way CORCAS president Khellihenna runs the Council. In his opinion, the country's actions in the Western Sahara were alienating Sahrawis, and thus could push more youth towards separatism
Separatism
Separatism is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. While it often refers to full political secession, separatist groups may seek nothing more than greater autonomy...
. He further claimed that most of the organization's members were allowed no knowledge of the government's autonomy plan - that they were supposedly responsible for drafting - and that CORCAS chairman Khellihenna Ould Errachid runs the council's affairs despotically, like "a new Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
".
External links
- Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS) – Official site in
- Le CORCAS
- Video of Corcas president Khali Henna Ould Rachid, introducing the mission of the council
See also
- History of MoroccoHistory of MoroccoThe History of Morocco spans over 12 centuries, without considering the Classical antiquity. The country was first unified by the Idrisid dynasty in 780, representing the first Islamic state in Africa autonomous from the Arab Empire. Under the Almoravid dynasty and the Almohad dynasty, Morocco...
- History of Western SaharaHistory of Western SaharaThe history of Western Sahara can be traced back to the times of Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator in the 5th century BC. Though few historical records are left from that period, Western Sahara's modern history has its roots linked to some nomadic groups such as the Sanhaja group and the...
- Sahrawi Arab Democratic RepublicSahrawi Arab Democratic RepublicThe Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a partially recognised state that claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27, 1976, in Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara. The SADR government controls about...
(SADR) - Sahrawi National CouncilSahrawi National CouncilThe Sahrawi National Council or simply National Council is the legislature of the government in exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Its structure and competences are guided by the Constitution of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic...
(SNC)