Following weeks of rumors, the United Nations has finally unveiled information about the date and place for the second roundtable discussion on Western Sahara.
Rabat – The United Nations issued a statement on Monday, March 19, announcing the second roundtable discussion on the Western Sahara conflict will be held March 21-22.
The statement said that the personal envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Horst Kohler, invited all parties involved in the conflict to Switzerland for the roundtable.
The meeting will convene Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, and Polisario in “accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2440 as a further step in the political process towards reaching a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable solution.”
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said that the purpose of the second roundtable is for “delegations to start approaching elements needed for building an enduring solution based on compromise.”
Guterres added that the roundtable would be an opportunity for the delegations to “revisit regional issues and discuss how to build trust.”
The statement announced that Kohler has held bilateral consultations with all the attending delegations to prepare for the second roundtable.
“He hopes the meeting will consolidate the positive dynamic created by the first roundtable, that was held in December 2018.”
The Moroccan government has not yet announced who will be in its delegation.
In the first meeting, held December 5-6, 2018, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita led a delegation of several elected Sahrawis, including the president of the Dakhla region, Khattat Ynja.
All of the parties concerned shared positive impressions on the first roundtable. While expressing readiness for negotiations, Morocco said that it will not accept a solution to the conflict outside its autonomy plan, territorial integrity, and sovereignty over its southern provinces.
Morocco’s state-owned news agency Maghreb Arab Press has not yet shared any statement regarding Morocco’s participation.
