Roundtable - The Western Sahara Crisis: Why U.S. Leadership is Needed Now

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- (Moroccan American Center for Policy ) On Tuesday, April 3, an expert panel will offer insights on the crisis in the Western Sahara, the growing threat of terrorism in the region, the deteriorating humanitarian situation, and how U.S. leadership can help bring this conflict to a peaceful end.

The Roundtable will take place on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 at 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at 1777 F Street, NW, First Floor, Washington, DC 20006

Participants include:

Jean AbiNader, Senior Advisor, Moroccan American Center (Moderator)
Ambassador Michael Ussery, Former US Ambassador to Morocco
Dr. J. Peter Pham, Director, Michael S. Ansari Africa Center, The Atlantic Council
Robert M. Holley, Senior Policy Advisor, Moroccan American Center for Policy

Please RSVP with Name and Affiliation to [email protected]

The rise of terrorism in North, West, and Central Africa, the continued reports of Polisario-member ties to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and the increasingly desperate humanitarian situation in the Tindouf camps have given a new urgency to resolving the Western Sahara conflict and promoting durable solutions for Sahrawi refugees. Despite international calls for a political settlement and continued praise of Morocco's autonomy plan as "serious, realistic, and credible," negotiations remain at a standstill. Now is the time for U.S. leadership to put actions behind its words to reach a resolution on the Western Sahara. Firm and proactive U.S. leadership to resolve the Western Sahara conflict offers an opportunity to create a "win-win" strategy that meets America's strategic need for consistent and viable responses to last year's Arab uprisings. It will offer immediate strategic benefits to U.S. policy, stability to the region, and relief for the Sahrawi refugees, still displaced after more than 30 years.

For more about the Western Sahara and regional security in North Africa, visit www.moroccoonthemove.com and follow us on Twitter - @MorocOnTheMove

The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials, and interested publics in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.  For more, please visit www.moroccoonthemove.com.

This material is distributed by the Moroccan American Center for Policy on behalf of the Government of Morocco. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.

CONTACT: Calvin Dark, 202.587.0855, [email protected]

SOURCE Moroccan American Center for Policy