Analyst calls on Congress to oversee US policy in North Africa
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Atlantic Council Africa Center
In an op-ed published by the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, analyst Frank Talbot calls on the US Congress to examine Washington’s new policy in North Africa, following the expiration of MINURSO’s mandate in the Sahara and US pressure for a unified Libyan army. He says the administration is acting with discretion, without parliamentary oversight.
Atlantic Council analyst Frank Talbot is calling on the US Congress to strengthen oversight of Washington’s decisions in North Africa, particularly on the Sahara and Libya. He believes the relevant committees of the House of Representatives and Senate should ask the US administration to justify its regional policy before certain decisions heighten tensions or strengthen armed groups involved in abuses, in an analysis published by the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center.
Frank Talbot cites Russia’s 30 October veto of a US draft resolution aimed at renewing the mandate of MINURSO, the UN mission in the Sahara. A Russian proposal to extend the mission for 12 months received only three votes in favour and its mandate expired on 31 October, after 35 years of a presence intended to monitor the ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front.
The analyst believes the House and Senate Foreign Affairs committees can use conditions linked to US aid, requirements to justify waivers and reporting requirements to get the administration to explain its choices. He also cites Libya, where Washington is pushing the country’s eastern and western leaders towards a unified military force that could include units that UN investigators have accused of helping Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces.
The analysis comes after the rejection, on 1 November, of an extension of MINURSO’s mandate and the start of the mission’s liquidation in the Sahara. On 12 November, the Polisario Front had called for mobilisation following MINURSO’s departure.
