Addis Ababa, February 1, 2016 (SPS) Prime Minister Abdelkader Taleb Omar called Sunday on African leaders to "take courageous initiatives to hear the voice of Africa which rejects the continuation of the occupation of territories members of the African Union countries."
In his address before the 26th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), Abdelkader Taleb Omar regretted the lack of progress in resolving the Western Sahara conflict due to the Moroccan position of intransigence and its refusal to implement international resolutions confirming the legitimacy of the Saharawi cause and considering Morocco as an occupying force.
The Prime Minister recalled that the two parties of the conflict, the Front Polisario and Morocco, signed the UN/OAU settlement plan by which they accepted ceasefire in 1991 and the establishment of the United Nations Mission for the Organization of a Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which has failed so far in its mission, despite calls to set a date to hold this referendum and the willingness of the Sahrawi party to engage in negotiations with Morocco to achieve this goal.
"Morocco continues to refuse the resumption of negotiations and impedes the visit of the UN Secretary General and his Personal Envoy to the region, unfortunately this intransigence is supported by a permanent member of the UN Security Council, which is France" he added.
On this occasion, Mr. Abdelkader Taleb Omar called the the United Nations to put an end to the deadlock situation, stressing that its continuation may increase the threat to peace and stability in a region that has many conflicts.
He also called on the UN and the AU to endeavor all their efforts to expand the powers of MINURSO to monitoring and protecting human rights, and to lift the state of siege imposed on Western Sahara.
The Prime Minister stressed the importance of the cancellation of all the agreements signed by Morocco with other countries and foreign companies including the Sahrawi territories, recalling the decision of the European Court of justice (ECJ) on December 10, 2015.
He denounced the decision of the Crans Montana Forum to hold its next session in the occupied city of Dakhla, calling on organizations, companies and governments not to boycott it.
The work of the 26th ordinary summit of the African Union (AU) ended Sunday afternoon in Addis Ababa, with the adoption of the various thematic reports which were submitted to it by the Ministerial Council. (SPS)
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