Rabat – Morocco’s Autonomy Plan received renewed international support during the 4th committee of the UN General Assembly from a score of countries, including El Salvador, and Cote d’Ivoire.
Tiemoko Moriko, the Permanent Representative Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire to the UN, renewed his country’s full support for the autonomy initiative on Monday before the members of the 4th committee on Monday.
During the meeting, he expressed satisfaction with the international support for the Moroccan autonomy plan, calling it a “compromise solution that is in line with the international law, the UN Charter, and the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly.”
Noting the effectiveness of the Moroccan initiative to resolve the Sahara dispute, the Ivorian diplomat recalled the participation of Sahrawis in various elections held in Morocco, including the most general elections in September 2021.
Cote d’Ivoire’s representative said that his country endorses the roundtable process in the same format, in accordance with the Security Council Resolution 2654 adopted last year on October 27 and with all the parties to the Sahara dispute, namely Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, and the Polisario.
“All parties should breathe new life into the political process and all countries of concern must refrain from non-political measures,” he said.
The roundtable process was initiated by former envoy Horst Koehler, who resigned in 2019 due to health issues.
The newly appointed envoy, de Mistura, has pledged to revive the same roundtable talks to engage all parties to the dispute in dialogue as part of the long-standing UN efforts to contribute to a mutually acceptable and an agreed upon political solution to end the Western Sahara dispute.
El Salvador also hailed Morocco’s autonomy initiative during the 4th UN committee meeting.
Egriselda Aracely Gonzalez Lopez, the country’s permanent representative ambassador, spoke at length of Security Council resolutions referencing the autonomy plan as a “viable” solution to the Sahara dispute.
She also commended the efforts of the UN envoy in facilitating the political process, highlighting his recent tour in the region as part of preparations for the upcoming Security Council meeting on the Sahara.
The Security Council will vote on a renewed MINURSO mandate at the end of October.
