The UN Security Council held, in New York, closed-door consultations on the Moroccan Sahara issue.
According to diplomatic sources in New York, members of the Security Council received Monday a briefing from the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, and the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General and head of MINURSO, Alexander Ivanko.
These consultations come in anticipation of the adoption, in late October, of a resolution extending the mandate of MINURSO, for which the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres has recommended a duration of one year.
During this meeting, the two UN officials briefed members of the Security Council on the basis of the latest report of the UN Secretary-General on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, in which Guterres has denounced the polisario’s violations and obstructions to MINURSO’s freedom of movement, preventing the Mission to carry out its mandate of monitoring the ceasefire in the Moroccan Sahara.
He also pointed to the deterioration of the human rights situation in the Tindouf camps, noting, for the first time, the recruitment of child soldiers in these camps.
The UN Secretary-General has also reaffirmed in his report the fundamentals of the UN political process, as advocated by the Security Council in all its resolutions since 2018, saying he is convinced that a political solution to the issue of the Moroccan Sahara is possible.
These findings were not to the liking of the leader of the armed separatists, who wrote a letter to the UN Secretary General accusing him of bias.
Well-informed and concordant diplomatic sources at the UN have indicated that during these consultations, a large number of countries have expressed their support for the Moroccan autonomy initiative, saying that this initiative represents the serious and credible basis for ending the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, as enshrined in Security Council resolutions since 2007.
They strongly and unanimously supported the UN political process to reach a political, realistic, pragmatic, sustainable and compromise-based solution to the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, based exclusively on Security Council Resolutions since 2007, particularly Resolution 2602, adopted on October 29, 2021, according to the same sources.
They have, in this regard, reaffirmed their support for the efforts of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to revive the UN political process.
A strong and frank call was made for resuming, as soon as possible, the round-table process, which Algeria continues to oppose, in an additional challenge to the international community.
Resolution 2602 cited Algeria five times, urging it to remain committed to the process of round tables throughout its duration, in a spirit of realism and compromise, in order to bring it to a successful conclusion, thus enshrining Algeria as the main party to this regional dispute.
The members of the Council also welcomed Morocco’s full cooperation with MINURSO.
At the same time, they expressed grave concern about the polisario’s renunciation of the cease-fire, its violations of the Military Agreements, and its obstruction of MINURSO’s activities and the freedom of movement of its military observers.
They enjoined the polisario to respect the cease-fire, to refrain from any act of provocation and to stop its dangerous obstruction of the implementation of MINURSO’s cease-fire supervision mandate, notably by blocking its patrols and preventing the supply of military observers, as detailed in the last report of the Secretary General to the Security Council.
According to the same sources, several countries have highlighted the stability and peace that prevails in the southern provinces, undermining the false allegations of Algeria and its polisario puppet about an alleged conflict in the Moroccan Sahara.
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