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New York – Explaining its vote on Security Council Resolution 2414, the United States reaffirmed Friday at the UN Security Council that the Moroccan Autonomy Plan remains a “potential approach” for the final settlement of the Western Sahara dispute.
“We continue to view Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as serious, credible, and realistic, and it represents one potential approach to satisfy the aspirations of the population in the Sahara to run their own affairs with peace and dignity,” Amy Tachco, Political Coordinator of the Permanent Mission of the United States to the United Nations, told the Security Council, following the adoption of resolution 2414, which extends the mandate of the MINURSO until October 31, 2018.
The US diplomat, who insisted on the importance of resuming talks in the framework of the UN process and the mission of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy Horst Kohler, stressed the “special and important role” that neighboring countries can play in the negotiating process.
The American diplomat’s statement echoes the repeated calls Morocco has made to the Security Council in recent years to pressure Algeria to be fully involved in the negotiating process. Moroccan diplomats have repeatedly stated that they won’t engage in direct negotiations as long as Algeria, the main backer of the Polisario, is not part of the political process.
Giving a new push to Morocco’s autonomy proposal, the US diplomat emphasized the need for the parties to work towards achieving a “realistic and practical” solution to the conflict.
“We call on the parties to demonstrate their commitment to a realistic, practicable, and enduring political solution based on compromise by resuming negotiations without preconditions and in good faith,” the US diplomat added.
Additionally, the American diplomat warned the Polisario against taking any further maneuvers that could cause instability in the region, adding that such actions would not help the parties reach a mutually acceptable political solution.
“We expect that all parties will respect their obligations under the ceasefire and refrain from any actions that could destabilize the situation or threaten the UN process,” the US diplomat pointed out, referring to the repeated Polisario provocations in the Guerguerat region, located in the buffer zone.
“Unilateral changes to the status quo on the ground will not help us get to a lasting and peaceful solution,” she concluded.
