New York, October 8, 2016 (SPS) – Mauritius has called for a solution to the question of Western Sahara that will provide for the self-determination of the Sahrawi people, at the UN Special Political and Decolonization Committee.
“My delegation supports the endeavour of the Secretary General and his Special Envoy for Western Sahara in order to find an acceptable solution to the problem of Western Sahara,” affirmed Mauritius before the UN Special Political and Decolonization Committee.
“ The people of Western Sahara have been under occupation now for more than 40 years, and despite the fact that the matter has been on the agenda of both the Fourth Committee and the UN Security Council, no progress seems to have been made on the process of decolonization. In fact, the situation has worsened and we need to ensure that it does not get out of control.”
“We have been deeply concerned by the events which led to the expulsion of the MINURSO earlier this year, and we call for the full implementation of UN Security Council resolution 2285, which emphasizes the urgent need for MINURSO to return to "full functionality", as well as calls on all parties," to continue negotiations under the auspices of the Secretary-General, without preconditions and in good faith" so as to achieve a "just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara...".
“We believe that the Framework Agreement reached in 1988 still represents a good basis for a solution. We therefore call for the C24 Committee on Decolonization to hold a special session on Western Sahara. We believe that this Committee should recommend concrete steps to complete the process of decolonization, including proposals for the General Assembly to determine a date for the referendum.” (SPS)
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