Sahara: Caribbean Countries Support Autonomy Initiative and Political Process

The Caribbean countries have expressed, before the Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly, their support for the Moroccan initiative for autonomy in the Sahara as a “viable proposal” to end this regional dispute, as well as for the political process carried out in this framework under the exclusive auspices of the United Nations.

“We welcome the autonomy initiative presented by Morocco on April 11, 2007, as a viable proposal to put an end to this dispute, and we note that the Security Council has welcomed the serious and credible efforts of Morocco to move the process forward towards a resolution,” Grenada’s representative told the Committee on Thursday.

“My delegation stresses, like in the observation made by the Security Council, that the achievement of a political solution to this long-standing dispute and an increased cooperation between the member countries of the Arab Maghreb Union would contribute to stability and security, something that would create jobs, growth and opportunities for all the peoples of the region,” she noted.

She added that her country welcomes the round tables held in 2018 and 2019 between Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario, while calling on the next Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General to “maintain the process of round tables in order to reach a political, realistic, pragmatic and durable solution, as underlined in Security Council resolution 2494”.

For his part, the Ambassador Permanent Representative of Barbados to the UN also expressed, before the Fourth Committee, her country’s support for the Moroccan autonomy initiative as a solution to the regional dispute over the Sahara.

“The government of Barbados expresses its support for the autonomy initiative of Morocco which aims to resolve the regional dispute over the Sahara, a dispute which unfortunately continues to hamper the integration of the Maghreb region,” she told the members of the Committee.

“Barbados calls on all parties to engage in the political process, skillfully led by the Secretary-General, to reach a final and mutually agreed political solution,” she said.

Barbados believes that all parties involved in the negotiations should be guided by the spirit of compromise, said the diplomat of the Caribbean country, adding that her country notes “with satisfaction the recent serious and credible efforts to make progress, in particular in the field of the promotion and respect of human rights, as well as during the recent round tables”.

She concluded by saying that her country remains “convinced that the efforts made in good faith will lead to a rapid and mutually acceptable solution to this dispute”, while expressing her rejection of “any attempt aimed at undermining in a partial or global manner the national unity and the territorial integrity of a State”.

For its part, the Republic of Guyana affirmed, before the same Committee, that a political, just, durable and mutually acceptable solution to the issue of the Moroccan Sahara would contribute to stability and security in the Sahel region.

“Guyana also expresses its support for the resolutions adopted by the Security Council and the General Assembly on the Sahara issue. We urge all parties to respect the provisions of these resolutions and we note that a solution to this long-standing dispute will contribute to stability and security in the Sahel region”, said the Ambassador Permanent Representative of Guyana to the UN, before the members of the Committee.

In this regard, she stressed that “the well-being” of the population of the Sahara should be “among the main motivating factors for the achievement of a political, just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution” to this regional dispute.

The ambassador added that his country also welcomes the holding of the two round tables initiated in December 2018 and March 2019 with the participation of all the parties concerned (Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and Polisario), while hailing the commitment of the parties, as expressed in their statement following the 2019 meeting, to continue to engage in the process in a serious and respectful manner.

“We hope that the parties will capitalize on the momentum created by these meetings (round tables) and will continue to work to build trust, which remains necessary for a progressive dialogue,” she concluded.