Addis Ababa, May 25, 2013 (SPS) - The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has invited the Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for Western Sahara Mr. Christopher Ross to visit Addis Ababa, in a letter addressed to the UN Chief Ban Ki-mon.
AU Commission Chairperson informed Ban Ki-mon about AU’s decision to entrust the Commission with the task of working in favour of organizing the referendum in Western Sahara, calling him to send his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, to Addis Ababa to coordinate between the two organizations, which share a special partnership on the Western Sahara issue, considering that they had submitted joint proposals to the parties in 1988.
After 4-year negotiations under supervision of the two organizations, the POLISARIO Front and Morocco accepted these joint proposals, then known as the 1991 Settlement Plan, under which the parties accepted, to organize a referendum and a cease-fire, but Morocco is still trying to wriggle out of its obligations signed under the aegis of the two organizations.
After two decades, stated the letter, the African partner calls upon the United Nations Organization to work in favour of completing the decolonization of Western Sahara, in accordance with the resolutions and the two organizations and their responsibilities in this topic. (SPS)
090/089/TRA