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Introduction Towards the end of the Second World War, the United Nations (UN) freshly founded, was aware of the stake that peace represented in inter-State relations, as well as the dialectical and close rapport between the latter and the well-being of the populations living in these same States: no peace can be achieved without development, neither could there be development without peace. This is precisely why the UN recommended, in several paragraphs of its Charter, the encouragement as well as heightening of cooperation with a view to improving the situation of economically under-developed States. This entreaty had a certain echo, and the common commitment was undertaken with success[1] up to the end of the 1970's we noticed the emergence of some blocking related to the decrease in Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is considered as the cornerstone of the development cooperation system. Also, a glorious period had to be followed by a period of uncertainty, particularly after the second oil crisis of 1979, and the sweeping crisis resulting from it. This tendency was aggravated by what has become known as the New World Order (NWO) and by the ideas underpinning it, ideas that are light-years away from the doctrine of development that the UN had laboriously put in place during the 1960's and 1970's. The decades of 1980 and 1990 were not the best of all days for developing countries, though. They witnessed the failure of the North-South Conference in Cancun (1981), and by the negative consequences of the second Gulf War (1991), on the very notion of cooperation between developed countries and developing ones. The developed countries' conviction being that the development policy of the developing countries had to flow together with the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) advocated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. There followed then a considerable aggravation of living conditions for a number of developing countries (crushed by the debts), where the number of people living under the threshold of poverty incrementally increased. It was only in September 2000 that hope was restored when the UN member States adopted, during the 55th session of the General Assembly, "the Millennium Declaration" that set measurable commitments and goals, accompanied with deadlines for the promotion of development. Later, these goals became the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is important to mention that the nature of the MDGs and the manner they are intended to be implemented (I) before focusing our research on the role that falls- in the case of the Moroccan attempts that are in line with this great workshop at the international scale-to the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS) towards a better contribution to the achievement of its goals on the Sahara territory (II). I. A reminder of the nature of the implementation of the millennium development goals These goals aim to : "eradicate extreme poverty and hunger". "achieve universal primary education". "promote gender equality and empower women". "reduce child mortality". "improve maternal health". "combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases". "ensure environmental sustainability". "develop a global partnership for development".
These goals illustrate an international consensus around what has become human development[2]. Launched by the Secretary General of the United Nations, this project had to be backed up by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on behalf of the United Nations Development Group (UNDG). At the level of their implementation, it has been decided that, in order to be pragmatic, these goals ought to be treated not as a set of theoretical or abstract ambitions, but rather as operational goals. This suggests that the steps to be taken in every country need to be identified and determined, the means whereby they will be achieved planned out, and the measures to be taken to implement them sufficiently thought out and carefully targeted. All these measures need to keep in line with the support of the international Community, because one ought to bear in mind that if the fight against poverty is first of all incumbent upon the Governments in the developing countries (the improvement of governance, the involvement of civil society, the promotion of corporate culture, the mobilization of internal resources, etc. ), it remains that the contribution of developed countries in this direction is necessary and even indispensable, through public assistance that needs to be increased and specifically oriented towards the fields that have an impact on development. To this could be added the important support of the international Organizations, as well as the regional and international banks of development. Such an implementation ought to be accompanied with some effective and efficient follow-up that rests with the United Nations Development Group (UNDG). This follow-up operates at several levels that have been carefully listed. The following levels are as follows: At the national level, every country has to prepare and establish reports related to the goals to be attained and to the degree of their implementation. At the international level, global synthetic assessments are carried out by the United Nations, in coordination with its specialized agencies. Assistance and advice have to be provided by the personnel and the experts of the United Nations to the decision-makers in developing countries. Such assistance concerns the conception of policies and programmes for these countries, as well as the reinforcement of their competences through offering them more innovative working methods. In sum, it is basically a question of a real support to the establishment and implementation of national priorities. Awareness campaigns have to be carried out in close coordination with the United Nations system and with its international partners (for the purposes of investment and financing) and national ones (action coalitions for setting priorities in line with national budgets), the ultimate end being to mobilize public opinion in such a way as to boost assistance to development, to reduce debt, to foster the transfer of technology and other forms of support deemed requisite for the achievement of the MDGs.
What would then be the role of the CORCAS in the implementation of the MDGs concerning the Sahara Region, considering its quality as a privileged stakeholder in the process of the Autonomy Project intended for the Sahrawi populations? II. The corcas, a key player in the achievement of the millennium development goals As a structure[3] representing the Sahrawi populations, the CORCAS stays tuned to the inhabitants, and inquires about them so as to pin down their needs and expectations, with a view to translating these into achievable programs within the framework of the MDGs. In addition, the Autonomy Project for the Sahara Region, which is an efficient solution for the settlement of the Sahara dispute, can only have a real impact on participative democracy and local governance. This is all the more true since the CORCAS, as evidenced in its current recast, not only includes, as it formerly did, notables (who are chosen from among elected representatives, the heads of regional Councils, the heads of provincial Assemblies as well as the heads of professional Chambers), and Chioukhs coming from different tribes, but also civil society representatives (Human rights militants), economic operators, the Moroccan nationals, the natives of the Provinces of the South living abroad (including those in Tindouf), all to which need to be added the structure in its entirety, which includes an important proportion of women and the youth. These are the ingredients that will ensure a greater credibility to this authority, one which, coupled with a great degree of independence (the CORCAS is directly answerable to the King), will not fail to make of this Council a distinguished interlocutor at the international level. It would then be able to present and defend the Moroccan Autonomy Project, to convince the members of the international Community who happen to be indecisive or misinformed and thus lead them to start a rereading of the Sahara dossier in light of the positive and favourable attitude of the UN Security Council, mainly its Resolutions 1754, 1783 and 1813, all of which have described the Moroccan Proposal as serious and credible. Besides, the contribution that the CORCAS has made towards the fulfillment of the MDGs will also firmly take root in a solid base, namely, the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) that was launched by King Mohammed VI on 18 May 2005 nearly five years after the Millennium Declaration in September 2000. Let us recall here that the INDH hinges on three principal lines: To reduce social deficits by granting priority to equipment and basic social services, such as health, education, literacy, water, electricity, standard housing, sanitation and road networks. To promote activities that generate regular income and employment. To provide assistance to people with vulnerabilities and specific needs.
Also, apart from the national development programs that target transversal activities and fight precariousness, the programs targeting the territorial and hence regional plan put emphasis on fighting social exclusion in the urban areas and on fighting poverty in the rural areas. This can be achieved through securing social integration and cohesion, as well as improving the conditions and quality of life of citizens by offering them access to basic equipment, boosting the local economic fabric through income-generating activities, empowering social life and strengthening local governance and capabilities[4]. The INDH reveals how innovative and ambitious it is in seeking to restore a continuous dynamic for human development as well as the self-fulfillment of men and women. Human development cannot be ensured without social equity, reduction of inequities, empowering women, and the participation of citizens in political life and democracy. It is true that the INDH already falls within a process of local planning, and that at the territorial level, it has at its disposal organs that set its goals by elaborating and implementing programs, in addition to securing follow-up procedures. The local Authorities will, on the other hand, see their efforts completed by those of the CORCAS. In fact, through some field work, the CORCAS could, during or on the occasion of tours, meetings and close consultations, complete the inventory of fixtures already undertaken since 2005 through the INDH, and offer new strategic goals to be pursued in addition to the ones defined earlier, all in line with a prospective vision such as it is perceived by the Sahrawi populations. We should not forget in this regard that "the demographic development characterizing the Regions of the South has created new economic and social challenges."[5] We can mention, as an example, the decisions made during the first ordinary session of the CORCAS in 2008, on 2 and 3 May more precisely, concerning the expansion of the sanitary network and social equipment through a five-year plan spread out between 2008 and 2012.[6] Apart from its field work, the CORCAS can rely on the detailed studies and the elaborate cartographies of the High Planning Commission which contribute hence to the enlightening of the policy decision-makers and facilitating the task of economic operators, volunteers and the militants of civil society. This is to say that the CORCAS is a sufficiently involved and really equipped authority. It can therefore contribute in an efficient manner to the preparation as well as the elaboration of reports on the MDGs in the Moroccan Sahara. This, however, does not imply that it is self-sufficient in this field, nor does it mean that it could do without the assistance, advice and expertise of UNDG, of UNDP and the services of the UN in a general manner. In fact, support from these organs can only be beneficial on matters pertaining to the conception of policies and programs in connection with these MDGs. The support resulting from UN bodies will be more advantageous for draining the necessary investments and financing, for sensitizing the donating countries to increase and boost Official Development Assistance[7], which tends to plead, under some circumstances, for the cancellation of debts; or at least for alleviating their reimbursement, and finally for defending and encouraging all forms of support to the achievement of the goals anticipated by the year 2015.
[1] In the 1940's and 1950's, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) finalized the Ordinary Program of Technical Assistance (OPTA, 1948). In 1949, the General Assembly created the Expanded Program of Technical Assistance (EPTA). In the 1960's, we witnessed the inauguration of international and decennial strategies for development. In 1974, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the New International Economic Order (NIEO). [2] The notion of « human development » is considered as an element of development for Societies, which implies that the well-being of individuals cannot be summed up in economic indicators such as GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per inhabitant. Human development is today measured, especially after 1990, by the Human Development Index (HDI), which is a composite index, calculated with three other principal indices: health and life-expectancy (as measured by life-expectancy at birth, and considered along with basic natural needs such as food, fresh water, lodging, hygiene and medical care); knowledge and education (as measured by the adult literacy rate and gross enrollment ratio), and finally standards of living, which concerns mobility and access to culture. [3] As a structure, CORCAS consists of 141 members and is led by a restricted body composed of the President, nine Vice-presidents and a Secretary-General. [4] Kamal Moufkari and Oussama Mokrine, « L'Initiative Nationale pour le Développement Humain », end-of-study project, Académie Royale Militaire, Meknès, 2007. [5] Othmane Gouza, « Missions et activités du CORCAS », in « La lettre du Sud Marocain », October 2008, p.153. [6] Idem, p. 160 [7] According to Richard Manning, President of DAC (the Development Assistance Committee which comes under the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and composed of 22 member States), the total amount of world public aid dropped between 2005 and 2007, although it has increased in absolute value. In fact, Iraq alone grabbed seven million dollars and largely benefited (along with Nigeria) from some thirty million dollars by way of debt cancellation. Cf. Alain Faujas, « L'aide au développement n'est pas adaptée aux besoins » in « Le Monde » of 16 February 2008. Hammad Zouitni
Professor at the faculty of law, Fez
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