Washington, Oct 20, 2012 (SPS) - The Algerian Minister Delegate for Maghreb and African Affairs Mr. Abdelkader Messahel declared Friday in Washington that Algeria supports the efforts of the United Nations Secretary General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, underlining that the Sahrawi people right to self-determination is the only solution.
In his speech at the opening session of the first Strategic Dialogue between Algeria and the United States in the presence of Under-U.S. Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, the minister said that “Algeria supports and encourages the efforts of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, in its efforts to bring the two parties (the Polisario Front and Morocco) to promote a solution based on the full exercise by the Saharawi people of their right to self-determination.”
On the question of Western Sahara, he insisted that Algeria “continues to believe strongly that there can be no solution without the right to self-determination of the Saharawi people, recognized and affirmed right by the United Nations and the Security Council.”
Christopher Ross is planning to visit North Africa and Europe from October 27 until November 15, announced last Wednesday the spokesman of the UN chief Martin Nesirky.
This announcement was made two days after the adoption by the UN Special Committee on Decolonization of a draft resolution on Western Sahara, which will be voted on at the UN General Assembly before the end of December 2012.
The draft resolution confirmed responsibility of the United Nations towards the people of Western Sahara, stressing that the General Assembly "supports the negotiation process initiated by several resolutions of the Security Council in order to reach a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution which allows self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, and commends the efforts made in this regard by the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy Christopher Ross. (SPS)
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