Written question asked by Navendu Mishra (Labour) on Monday, 5 June 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 7 June 2023. It was answered by David Rutley (Conservative) on Tuesday, 13 June 2023 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Morocco: Intimidation

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) the implications for its policies and (b) diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Morocco in respect of allegations of physical intimidation against a Sahrawi representative at a celebration of African unity in Canberra.

Answer: The UK has not made any assessment of this incident. The UK's long-held position on Western Sahara remains as set out in my [Minister Rutley's] answer of 22 May (UIN 185142) to the Member for Stockport's question of 15 May. We enjoy a wide-ranging and positive bilateral relationship with Morocco, one which sees increasing cooperation in areas such as regional security, education, trade and investment, and defence and security, recently demonstrated during the UK-Morocco Strategic Dialogue in May 2023. The Joint Declaration following this meeting is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/morocco-uk-strategic-dialogue-session-4-joint-declaration-2023/fourth-session-of-the-moroccan-uk-strategic-dialogue-and-second-session-of-the-association-council-of-the-uk-morocco-association-agreement-joint-decl.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 187821
Session: 2022-23
Related items: Western Sahara: Armed Conflict
Monday, 22 May 2023
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects: Diplomatic service Australia Intimidation Staff Morocco Western Sahara
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk