Addis Ababa, April 30, 2015 (SPS) - The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) has “deeply” regretted Thursday that the UN Security Council did not respond to the AU request to allow its special envoy for Western Sahara, Joaquim Chissano, addressing this body.
This fact “does not reflect the spirit of the strategic partnership between the AU and the UN, in particular between the Council of Peace and Security of the AU and the United Nations Security Council, which must apply to all questions of peace and security on the African continent, including Western Sahara,” said a statement from the PSC issued at its 503rd meeting held on 30 April 2015 to follow up the statement on the situation in Western Sahara adopted at its 496th meeting held on 27 March 2015.
The Council expressed its “firm conviction the Western Sahara conflict resolution, which has been stalled for more than four decades, despite the efforts of successive personal envoys of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, as well as the effective implementation of resolutions of the Security Council require both increased international commitment and a close partnership between the AU and the UN.”
The Council, which noted the adoption on 28 April 2015 of Resolution 2218 (2015) on Western Sahara, reiterated AU’s commitment ‘to continuing to work for the prompt settlement of the Western Sahara conflict on the basis of international legality and the relevant decisions of the OAU/AU, working closely with the United Nations to mobilize all the support the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations needs to carry out its mandate,” said the same source.
The Council also expressed “deep” appreciation to the African members of the Security Council for their “efforts to facilitate interaction between the Security Council and the Special Envoy of the AU,” and encouraged them to “remain committed to further promoting the African position on the question of Western Sahara.” (SPS)
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