Marruecos obtiene asiento en la Comisión para los Límites de la Plataforma Continental que estudia los límites de las aguas canarias
Miloud Loukili, a law professor at the University of Rabat specialising in maritime law, has been elected as a member of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) for the period 2023 - 2028. The vote took place on 15 June during the 32nd Assembly of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The CLCS is the international working group responsible for the enforcement of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea between States for matters involving the continental shelves.
After the territorial waters and the contiguous zone, which extend up to 24 nautical miles, begins the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which, if it does not overlap with another area of sovereignty, extends 200 nautical miles from the coastline. Beyond 200 nautical miles, a nation can request that its area of entitlement be extended as far as its continental shelf by a further 150 miles.
The case of Miloud Loukili came to the media's attention in May when a pro-Polisario NGO accused Morocco of presenting Loukili to the UN body. According to the NGO, Loukili would be an academic who defends Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, as well as being unqualified for the post.
Several Spanish media outlets echoed the news, also pointing to the inadequacy of Loukili's curriculum vitae to be part of the Commission.
It should be noted, however, that the Moroccan candidacy met the requirements imposed by the UN and was accepted. Professor Loukili is an expert in maritime law, although he is not a geologist or hydrographer like most of the members of the Commission.
There are already precedents. Several members of the current Commission do not have a scientific background. Many others are officers in their countries' armed forces, so it is assumed that they remain loyal and represent the interests of their nations, something Loukili was criticised for, but which is the norm in the Commission.
Le Maroc a été élu, aujourd’hui à New York, membre de la Commission des Limites du Plateau Continental pour la période 2023-2028, à l’occasion de la 32ème Réunion des Etats Parties à la Convention des Nations Unies sur le Droit de la Mer. #CLCS
— Maroc Diplomatie ?? (@MarocDiplomatie) June 15, 2022
?https://t.co/Gzz3ynZQ3t pic.twitter.com/AUK3ZfxmaT
A total of 117 countries voted in favour of Morocco's candidacy during the 32nd Assembly in New York. In a statement, the Moroccan foreign ministry congratulated Morocco for its "intense diplomatic campaign" that won Loukili the seat on the Commission. According to the Commission's rules, five of the 25 members are reserved for African countries. In addition to Morocco, Angola, Madagascar, Ghana and Kenya will have experts on the CLCS.
The renewal of the membership of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf attracts particular attention at a time when the governments of Spain and Morocco are preparing to convene a joint working group to resolve maritime disputes.
At the same time, Spain has had an open process before the CLCS since 2014 to extend Spain's continental shelf rights to the Canary Islands. If accepted, Spain would have rights over the resources of the maritime soil 150 nautical miles west of the Canary Islands' EEZ. Experts from the CSIC, coordinated by Luis Somoza, presented a stage to assemble the Spanish claim of legitimacy according to the geology, geophysics and hydrography of the continental shelf of the Canary Islands. Within the limits drawn by the Spanish working group in 2014 and submitted by the CLCS, would be the rich deposits of Mount Tropic.
Morocco, through its parliament, appropriated sovereignty over the territorial and contiguous waters corresponding to the Western Sahara coastlinet, gains considerable support with Loukili in a body that will have to rule on this issue. If Morocco obtains international recognition over Saharan waters, the right over its continental shelf, which would overlap with the southern fringe of the Canary Islands, could be brought before the CLCS.
Several meetings of the Spanish-Moroccan working groups are still planned between Spain and Morocco to resolve their maritime differences, not only in the Atlantic, but also in the Mediterranean. Foreign Ministry sources claimed in April, after the joint declaration, that these meetings would resume in June 2022, but no statement has yet been made on the matter.
