Topic: Determining the Legitimacy of Secession Movements and Obligations of Parent States
Country: Morocco
Delegate Name: Maya Trowe
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Morocco position papers GLIMUN 2016 committees
The seceding of states have widely shaped and defined geographical borders and the building of nations throughout history. From the nineteenth to the twentieth century there have been reportedly thirty six attempted secession movements, varying from the Congo declaring independence from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet from China. Secession movements are traditionally defined as a country’s withdrawal from its larger parenting state, typically without their authorization. Seceding movements have typically created disdain from the parent state in regards to the seceding state, bringing up the discussion of importance of what makes a movement legit and what the responsibilities of the parent states entail. Today, countries with a membership in the United Nations or International Monetary Fund have increased the legitimacy of a seceding state, for the inclusion in one of these organizations provides outside recognition . Self-determination and adherence to international law are also cited as two sound indicators of a sovereign and legitimate state.
Morocco became under unofficial French rule beginning in 1899.Later, The Kingdom of Morocco signed the Treaty of Fez in 1912 and became a French protectorate. After World War II, The United States further encouraged Mohammed Ben Youssef, Sultan of Morocco to gain independence. Youssef began to distance the Kingdom of Morocco from the protectorate, championing the Arab League and supporting Istiqlal, the Independence Party. Morocco then gained full independence from France on March 2, 1956.The Rif Republic was a republic in northern Morocco that was created in 1921, when the people of the Rif revolted and declared their independence from Spanish occupation as well as from the Moroccan sultan Yusef. The attempt of secession ultimately failed, resulting in the dissolution in 1926 by Spanish and French forces during the Rif War. In 1975, Morocco annexed The Western Sahara. Since then it has been the subject of an ongoing territorial dispute between Morocco and its indigenous Saharawi people, led by the Polisario Front. A 16-year-long insurgency ended with a UN-brokered truce in 1991 and the promise of a referendum on independence which has yet to take place.
The Kingdom of Morocco proposes what creating secession movements global to be considered an international crime. Secession should not be considered a viable option for countries and should be held legally accountable for seceding. Morocco argues for the Special Political Committee to create and establish laws and restrictions on any and all countries who choose to secede from their parent states.
