Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs
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The Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS) (French: 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 expire, and renewed by his son, Mohammed VI in early 2006, after the proposal of an autonomy plan devised to replace the United Nations' Baker Plan. The autonomy plan is opposed by the Algeria backed Polisario Front, which demands that the United Nations resolutions and Moroccan-Polisario agreements calling for a referendum be implemented.
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[edit] Mission
The CORCAS is intended as a consultative body for proposals related to what Morocco regards as its Southern Provinces, but also to defend the kingdom's "territorial integrity" in the media and in international fora.
Task of the Council is to facilitate dialogue with the Sahrawi in the refugee camps of Tindouf, Algeria.
[edit] Composition
The 141 members of CORCAS are Sahrawi and Moroccan political and traditional (tribal) notables (sheikhs), 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 then-Spanish Sahara in the 1970s.[citation needed] After the departure of the Spanish in 1975, which caused the dissolution of the PUNS, he became a defender of Morocco's position on the Sahara, and became a figurehead for the Moroccan government's rule in the Western Sahara.[citation needed]
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 [1] ,
- 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.
[edit] 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 President of the People's Republic of China president, the former French foreign minister, and various other international officials.
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS) – Official site in Arabic, English, French and Spanish
- Le CORCAS (Section on CORCAS in French language)
