Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at 6:33 PM
Before the members of the Bali-Senegal 24 (C24) UN Group, Morocco reaffirmed its support for the autonomy plan as an “appropriate framework” to resolve the territorial conflict over the Sahara.
Speaking at the C24 Regional Forum for the Pacific Region held in Bali from 24 to 26 May, Senegal’s representative said the autonomy initiative offered by Morocco in 2007 qualified as serious and credible under international law, the United Nations Charter and resolutions of the General Assembly and Security Council.
In this context, the UN for the Sahara The diplomat welcomed efforts to restart the political process by SG Personal Envoy Staffan de Mistura, resulting in visits to stakeholders in January, July and September 2022 and informally. A bilateral meeting with these parties was held in New York last March.
He reiterated his country’s support for a final, just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution through a process conducted under the exclusive auspices of the United Nations, based on successive Security Council resolutions since 2007. The same format, the constructive momentum created by the two round tables in Geneva, demonstrates realism and a spirit of compromise to ensure the successful outcome of the political process initiated by the United Nations.
He also praised Morocco’s “significant” progress in the Sahara, particularly in promoting human rights and democracy, and the “considerable” efforts made for the region’s economic and social development. .
“These efforts have confirmed the desire of the Kingdom of Morocco to definitively resolve this dispute”, he said, and in support of this policy, Senegal opened its consulate in Takla on April 5, 2021.
The representative of Senegal, 28 governments of African, Arab, Latin American and Asian countries have already opened embassies in the Moroccan Sahara, with the aim of contributing to the strengthening of economic and social opportunities in the region.
He welcomed the participation of representatives of the Moroccan Sahara elected during the Moroccan elections of September 08, 2021 in the important meetings and discussions of the Geneva Round Tables, the C24 sessions and the regional seminars of this UN group. This is a “positive signal” that strengthens Senegal’s confidence in the successful outcome of the regional conflict.
Furthermore, the Senegalese diplomat noted that his country emphasizes the importance of respecting the 1991 ceasefire for the stability of the region, and in this sense welcomes Morocco’s continued cooperation with MINURSO as well as respect for the ceasefire.
