New York, 6 April 2020 (SPS) - Polisario Front representative at the United Nations, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, on Monday indicated that the Security Council meeting scheduled for Thursday on developments in Western Sahara should be an opportunity for its members to address several issues, including the delay in the appointment of a new UN envoy and mechanisms for responding to the opening of consulates in the occupied Sahrawi territories.
In a statement to SPS, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar said that a briefing on the developments of the political process in Western Sahara would be presented to the Security Council, whose work will be carried out by video-conference due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Sahrawi diplomat, head of the MINURSO, Collin Stewart, is expected to give a briefing on the situation of this UN mission mandated to organize a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara.
The representative of the Polisario Front at the United Nations added that Polisario Front expects from member states of the Security Council to "adopt a firm and clear position on the illegal and provocative acts by the Moroccan occupying power in the occupied areas of Western Sahara, such as opening so-called consulates for some foreign entities, in addition to its continuing violations of human rights and plunder of the natural resources of the occupied territory while it continues to violate the terms of Military Agreement No. 1 and the spirit of the peace plan through the illegal breach of Guerguarat region."
With regards to the appointement of a personal envoy to Western Sahara, Dr. Sidi indicated that Polisario Front didn't receive anythin official from the UN Secretariat, stressing that this appointment should not in any way constitute a "goal in itself".
He further indicated that the Polisario Front is still "committed to the peaceful solution of the conflicte, but will never be a partner in any process that does not fully respect and guarantee the exercise by the people of Western Sahara of their inalienable right to self-determination and independence in accordance with the relevent UN General Assembly and Security Council's resolutions."
It should be noted that the next session of the Council will be held under the presidency of the Dominican Republic in a context marked by the stagnation of this conflict bringing the situation back to square one, despite the dynamics that have characterized the two roundtables in Geneva that brought Morocco and the Polisario Front together under the auspices of former UN SG personal envoy to Western Sahara, Horst Kohler.
Mr. Kohler, it should be recalled, resigned his post last May 2019, since then the United Nations has not appointed any successors. (SPS)