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General Assembly - Flfteentb Session - First Committee Morocco Before the Fr-Ench Protectorate

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General Assembly - Flfteentb Session - First Committee Morocco Before the Fr-Ench Protectorate United Nations FIRST COMMITTEE, 1109ih GENERAL MEETING Tuesday, 15 November 1960, ASSEMBLY at 10.55 a.m. FIFTEENTH SESSION Official Records NEW YORK CONTENTS 4. Moreover, what was now called "Mauritanian Page or the "Islamic Republic of Mauritania" had never Agenda item 79: formed a distinct national entity before the French The problem of Maur'itania occupation. Like the rest of Morocco, it had been General debate. • . • . 131 divided into a number of provinces (emirates) under the authority of emirs appointed by the Moroccan sovereign. Religious officials (cadis, ministers of Chairman: Sir Claude CO REA (Ceylon). religion) administered justice in the name of the sovereign of Morocco and \Vere responsible for edu­ cation in Mauritania. They had always been appointed AGENDA ITEM 79 by the same legal authority of the country. 5. In a note which it had recently circulated in the The problem of Mauritanie (A/4445 and Add.1) United Nations, the French delegation asserted that wlùle certain Moorish chiefs had in some cases GENERAL DEBATE received letters of investiture from the sultans, the y regarded the latter as allies and not as their sover­ 1. Mr. BOUCETTA (Morocco) said that considered eigns, and had a!ways refused to pay them the koranic in the context of the attainment of independence by a tithe. A French officer, Commandant Gillier, had large number of African States, the problem of Mauri­ tania was one of great importance. Throughout its demonstrated the absurdity of that statement in his book on Mauritania.LI Commissioner Coppolani of the long history, Morocco had always formed a national French Government, writing in 1905 to the French entity, geographically distinct and based on a lin~ guistic and rel!gious human community inspired by Minister of the Colonies, had described Mauritania as the natural extension of Morocco; and Marshall the same ideals and aspirations. Before the occupa­ tion, the frontiers of Morocco had at ail times been Lyautey himself had said in 1911, in a letter to the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, that the sultans the Mediterranean, to the north, the Atlantic Ocean, had at ail times exercised effective and undisputed to the west, and the Senegal River, to the south. authority over that part of the continent. International treaties, agreements and conventions had been concluded in the name of that national entity. 6. The Almoravide dynasty, wlùch, originating in That was the Morocco that the outside world knew, a the extreme south of the territory of Morocco, i.e. in Morocco whicb traded with every country and had Mauritania, had extended its authority over the whole recognized nations of much later birth than its own. country, had inaugurated a period characterized by Forty-four years of colonial rule, in the twentieth the final consolidation of the social, political and century, had been unable to destroy the ethnie, rel!gious structure of the Moroccan State. Contrary spiritual, social and human unity labor!ously forged to allegations made in some quarters that the French by the Moroccan people. had been the first to occupy, by right of conquest, 2. The struggle against the dismemberment of the the "vacant and ownerless land" of Mauritania, the country still continued. Morocco, which had always French conquerors had found there an administrative and judicial structure and a legal authorlty responsi­ defended the just causes of other peoples, now ap­ ble to the Moroccan central power. Until 1912, the peared before the United Nations to defend a cause only currency in Mauritania had been Moroccan. The based on right and moral!ty and to preserve its Moroccan central authority had been responsible for territorial unity and integrity. public order and national defence, had appointed 3. From the remotest times until the occupation of officiais and had carried on the administration. The the country by force of arms, what was lmown as attributes of sovereignty were exercised in accord­ Mauritania had a!ways been joined with the part of ance with the conditions of the time, but the whole Morocco which was now free, ta form a single population had recognized the authority of the Sultan national entity from the legal, political, sociological, of Morocco unreservedly until 1912. Prayers in the human, cultural and religious viewpoints. The central masques had always been offered on behalf of the Government had exercised constant and effective King of Morocco, and that was stlll the case ln cer­ sovereignty in the area. The Moroccan province of tain masques, desplte several decades of occupation. Mauritania, covering more than a million square Furthermore, the Mauritanian tr!bes had always ldlometres, was a semi-desert region with only very taken an active part in the investiture of the sultans limited grazing and agricultural resources. Its mainly of Morocco and whenever that event took place Mauri­ nomadic population had at no time regarded itself as tanian chiefs and scholars had came to take part in different from the population of the north, and the the election of their monarch. There were many identity of the two had been questioned nelther by Mauritanians still al!ve today who had participated h!storians nor even by the French forces which had in the 1908 e!ection of Moulay Ha!id, the last King of carried out the conquest of the southern provinces !J Commandant L" Gllller, La pén~tration en Mauf'ltanie (Paris, Paul from 1905 to 1912. Geutlmer·, Libr·air·!e or'lentaliste, 1926). 131 A/C.1/SR.1109 132 General Assembly - Flfteentb Session - First Committee Morocco before the Fr-ench Protectorate. The Mam·i­ 9. Since its attainment of independence, Morocco tanians, moreover, had always helped ta defend the had never ceased ta demand the return of the part of Jdngdom against the attacks of the colonial Powers. its territory which was still under occupation, and One could mention, for example, the violent battles had expr·essed the most explicit reservations in fought against the French army at Casablanca in 1907 respect of that territory, both to the French Govern­ and in the Marrakech district in 1910 and 1911, ment and to the United Nations. At the most recent battles in which Mau.ritanians had par ticipated. sessions of the Assembly, the Moroccan delegation had drawn the attention of representatives to the 7. Additional evidence of the permanent and effective question. F'inally, it had reserved its rights in respect sovereignty exerctsed by Morocco over the southern of the Mauritanian province when the Société des regions was provided by the international conventions mines de fer de Mauritanie, an agency which had and agreements signed early in the century. The Gen­ been set up under the auspices of an organ of the eral Act of the InteI'national Conference of Algeciras, French State, had applied to the International Bank signed on 7 April 1906, had been based on unanimous fo:r Reconstruction and Development for a large loan. acceptance of "the triple principle of the sovereignty On 5 October 1958 the Moroccan Government had and independence of His Majesty the Sultan, the transmitted to the Bank a meJnorandum in which it integrity of hls domains, and economic liberty with­ had stated that Mauritania was an integral part ofMo­ out any inequality". With regard to the southex·n rocco that the situation that existed in that province provinces, France had ignored its pledges and had could 'not be considered as final, that the application dis1·egarded the principles which it had solemnly for a loan was more a political than an economic accepted. It had immediately attempted, by the use measure and that France and Morocco had officially of fox·ce and by unilateral acts of a purely domestic expressed their intention of initiating negotiations nature, to detach part of Morocco' s territory and for the purpose of demar·cating their frontiers, in merge it with another area under its domination. particular those separating Mor·occo from the West ·rhus the French decree of 1904,Y a decree which African territories. In 1956, Morocco and Fr·ance had was Ïegally dolose and internationally null and void, agreed that a mixed commission should meet as soon had wrongfully defined what was at that time called as possible to consider the h·ontier problem. France the "civil territory of Maur-itania", although only a ought therefore to have refrained from any measure few localities of the vast x·egion involved, represent­ that would modify the existlng territorial, pol!ti­ ing less than one-tenth of its area, had been under cal and administrative situation with r·egard to the military occupation. In spite of the pledges entered regi.ons in question, or would involve commitrnents into under the Act of Algeciras, the conquest had affecting th.eir future, especially as Morocco had been systematically and mercllessly continued. After never, eith.er implicitly or explicitly, renounced its the conclusion of the Protectorate Treaty ,V appease­ r·ights ta the ar·eas in question. ment efforts were undertaken by bringing religious leaders fI-om the northern regions to tell the people 10. However, desplte the notes presented by the Mo­ of the south, in the name of the Sultan, that the latter roccan Government, several French decisions had called on them ta cease resistance and ta collaborate unilaterally modified the status of the province of with the French administration. Mauritania. For example, on 27February1957 France had transmitted to Morocco the text of the Act setting s. The countries signatories to the Act of Algeciras up the O:r-ganisation commune des régions sahar·ien­ had promised to respect the teuitm-ial integrlty of nes while statlng that it was prepared to draw up a Morocco.
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