Washington (United States), April 28, 2016 (SPS) - US draft resolution on Western Sahara, requiring from Morocco to immediately re-establish the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), was altered on Wednesday under the pressure of France, which has reduced its value and removed its urgency," UN sources said Wednesday.
The new version of the resolution, of which APS has a copy, provides for a briefing by the UN secretary general on the re-establishment of MINURSO activities in 120 days (four months).
The initial draft resolution gave to the UN chief 60 days (two months) to inform the Security Council whether MINURSO is fully working.
France and Morocco seek to gain time and remove the urgency of the US proposal by putting back Ban Ki-moon's briefing by two months, the sources stressed.
In addition, the new version is particularly less strict towards Morocco.
"They have diminished the value of the US draft resolution," the UN sources stressed.SPS
125/090/700