GENEVA, 22 April 2026 – Mr. Thami El Aissaoui, President of the Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Monitoring Mine Risks, has taken a leading role at the 29th NDM-UN29, using every opportunity to link practical demining efforts with the broader political necessity of the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative.
Over three days of intensive diplomacy, President El Aissaoui met with government representatives and global experts to expose the enduring threat of mines planted by Polisario militias in the Moroccan Sahara. He emphasised the human cost – lives shattered, land rendered unusable, and development projects paralysed. Morocco’s answer, he explained, is a comprehensive national programme that combines technical demining, widespread risk-awareness education, and a complete victim-support ecosystem including medical treatment, physical rehabilitation, and socio-professional reintegration.
President El Aissaoui’s most significant contribution, however, was his impassioned defence of a humanitarian approach to the Autonomy Initiative. With supporting documentation in hand, he demonstrated to delegations that this Moroccan proposal offers the only pragmatic and sustainable framework for ending the dispute. “The implementation of autonomy guarantees regional stability and, above all, gives the populations of the Tindouf camps a real chance to return in dignity,” he stated.
Faithful to the highest national guidance, Mr. El Aissaoui cited His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s historic speech of 31 October 2025, which urges the camp populations to come home and help shape a prosperous shared future. The President has committed the CEMSRM to continued advocacy throughout the remainder of the Geneva meeting, determined to convince the international community that supporting the Autonomy Initiative is the most effective way to make the Sahara a permanently mine-free zone of peace and opportunity.
