Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), March 29, 2015 (SPS) - The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Salem Salek, urged the United Nations and the African Union to quickly set a date for the holding of a referendum on self-determination of the Saharawi people, as (UN-AU) the guarantors of the implementation of the settlement plan accepted by both parties to the conflict (the Polisario Front and Morocco).
Speaking before the Peace and Security Council during a briefing on the developments of the situation in Western Sahara, Mr. Ould Salek stressed "the urgent need to set a date for the referendum in Western Sahara."
"Owing to Morocco's procrastination to take advantage of many reports and attempt to legitimize its military occupation of large parts of Western Sahara, it is time to set a date for the referendum promised for 23 years by the United Nations to end the suffering of the Saharawi people and prevent a return to hostilities in the region, "he warned.
The SADR signed the settlement plan sponsored by the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (now African Union) in 1991 in response to the efforts of the African Union to finalize the decolonization of the last colony in Africa, Western Sahara, said the chief of the Saharawi diplomatic mission.
The question of Western Sahara is registered by the United Nations General Assembly since 1963 on the list of Non-Self territories and since then, the United Nations has always called for the inalienable right of the Saharawi people to self-determination, he added. (SPS)
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