World Social Forum in Benin Next August
The Makhzen Mobilises 15 Associations to Plead Against Western Sahara and Algeria
By Dr. Hana Saada
The city of Cotonou in the Republic of Benin will host the seventeenth edition of the World Social Forum from 4 to 8 August. This year’s edition is being held against the backdrop of a turbulent international environment marked by the recent wars in the Middle East, the growing global energy and food crises, as well as internal conflicts, wars, and illegal migration affecting a number of countries, the majority of them on the African continent.
The World Social Forum, which will convene this year under the slogan “Another World is Possible,” will host several workshops and 200 sessions, according to the Forum’s technical programme, to discuss issues relating not only to current affairs but also to the future. Among the principal themes are social justice, climate, humanitarian law, and the solidarity economy.
The Forum, regarded as a global space for forces opposed to globalisation and its negative repercussions on the world and its peoples, and considered a worldwide initiative bringing together social forces opposed to the policies of the Davos Forum, constitutes an important platform for states, governments, and civil society organisations alike to present their visions, ideas, and narratives before this international gathering.
From this perspective, the Makhzen regime has not hesitated to mobilise approximately fifteen Moroccan associations and organisations to participate in this international forum, in an attempt to break the diplomatic isolation imposed upon it and to promote its claims and allegations regarding the Western Sahara issue, while also promoting its alleged victimhood vis-à-vis Algeria.
Within this framework, one of the participating associations is an organisation known as the League of Moroccans Who Were Victims of Arbitrary Expulsion from Algeria, an indication that, through the very nature of its activities, this association will direct its efforts against Algeria, despite the fact that the entire world is aware that Algeria remains removed from Morocco’s internal affairs.
Among the other Moroccan associations mobilised by the Makhzen are the Mediation Space Association, a semi-academic organisation specialising in mediation; the Makhzen’s propaganda media outlet Breaking News; the Moroccan Association for Assisting Migrants in Vulnerable Situations; the Moroccan Association for Financial Transactions; the Mediterranean Development Centre, which describes itself as a research and think tank institution; the Nour Foundation for Solidarity with Rural Women; the International Chamber of Commerce for Youth; the Moroccan Democratic Civil Forum; the Union of Students from the Southern Provinces in Morocco, a student organisation whose members claim to originate from the occupied Western Sahara while expressing allegiance to Morocco; the Morocco–Mashreq Social Forum Association; the Network of the Independent Human Rights Committee in North Africa; the National Authority for Youth and Democracy in Morocco; the Centre for Studies and Research in the Social Sciences in Morocco; and, finally, the Workers’ Union in Morocco.
The nature and composition of the Moroccan participation indicate that Morocco seeks to promote its narrative regarding its dispute over Western Sahara, as well as against Algeria, in an attempt to utilise this global platform to advance its positions, which are experiencing significant setbacks amid domestic conditions characterised by economic decline, growing social discontent, and diplomatic isolation.
It is well known that the World Social Forum was established in 2001 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, as a global platform for forces opposed to the neoliberal model represented by the Davos Forum, according to its founders.
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