Rabat – The United Nations Security Council held closed consultations in New York on the topic of Western Sahara, as provided for in Resolution 2654 adopted on October 27, 2022.
During the meetings, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, and the Head of MINURSO, Alexander Ivanko briefed members of the Security Council on recent developments in the Sahara dispute, Morocco’s Press Agency MAP reported from “informed sources.”
The same source added that a large number of the council’s members also expressed support and appreciation for Morocco’s Autonomy Initiative, considering it a “serious, credible, and pragmatic” solution to put an end to the dispute.
The briefings also saw support for the UN political process, with all members pledging to accompany de Mistura’s efforts to relaunch the UN-led political process, highlighting the importance of roundtable discussions between all parties to the dispute.
Bilateral consultations held by de Mistura at the end of March included Morocco, Mauritania, and Algeria, thus confirming the latter’s role in the territorial dispute.
Despite being cited as a main party in the conflict in several UN resolutions, the Algerian regime continues to refuse to engage with the political process, maintaining that it is merely an observer.
Yet it is an open secret that Algeria finances, arms, and backs the Polisario Front, the separatist group claiming an independent state in the Western Sahara region in southern Morocco.
The closed consultations also highlighted “the stability and prosperity” in the southern region, MAP added, detailing that the opening of consulates in Dakhla and Laayoune was received as a sign of the growing recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the region.
