New York (United Nations) 04 July 2022 (SPS)- The Representative of Frente Polisario at the UN, Dr. Sidi M. Omar, denounced in a Press Release issued Today, the Moroccan obstructionism and delaying tactics that prevented the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary general to the UN, Mr. Satafan de Mistura, from visiting the occupied territories of Western Sahara as he was planning to do.
“The Frente POLISARIO deeply deplores that the occupying state of Morocco has once again resorted to obstructionism and delay tactics to prevent the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara from conducting his first visit to the Territory, which demonstrates beyond any doubt that the occupying state has no political will to engage constructively in the UN peace process in Western Sahara,” the Press Release states.
Following is the full text of the Press Release of which SPS received a copy:
FRENTE POLISARIO REPRESENTATION AT THE UNITED NATIONS
PRESS RELEASE
[New York, 4 July 2022]: The United Nations informed today that the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Mr Staffan de Mistura, has decided not to proceed with his officially announced visit to Western Sahara.
The Frente POLISARIO deeply deplores that the occupying state of Morocco has once again resorted to obstructionism and delay tactics to prevent the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara from conducting his first visit to the Territory, which demonstrates beyond any doubt that the occupying state has no political will to engage constructively in the UN peace process in Western Sahara.
By obstructing the Personal Envoy’s intended visit to Western Sahara, the occupying state of Morocco is trying to prevent Mr de Mistura from witnessing at first hand the situation on the ground in the Sahrawi Occupied Territories and the oppression to which Sahrawi civilians and human rights activists are being subjected daily under Moroccan illegal military occupation.
This is not the first time that the occupying state of Morocco seeks with complete impunity to prevent a Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara from visiting the Territory as part of his mandate as established by the UN Secretary-General and endorsed by the Security Council.
Moreover, it is not the first time that the occupying state of Morocco tries to reduce an official visit by a Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara to a mere “spectacle” by restricting his movement and setting preconditions on where he should go and with whom he should meet during his visit to the Sahrawi Occupied Territories.
The Security Council and the UN Secretary-General should therefore assume their responsibilities and hold the occupying state of Morocco accountable for its obstruction of the efforts of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, including his officially announced visit to the Territory.
The Frente POLISARIO calls upon the United Nations to act with full transparency and reveal the reasons that have prevented the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara from conducting his first visit to the Territory.
The lack of accountability leads only to emboldening the occupying state of Morocco to persist with complete impunity in its obstructionism that seriously undermines the prospects for relaunching the peace process with a view to achieving a peaceful, just, and lasting solution to the decolonisation of Western Sahara.
Dr Sidi M. Omar
Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations
Coordinator with MINURSO.” (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)