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Security Council dubs "unacceptable" status quo in Western Sahara (draft resolution)

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New York, April 27, 2018 (SPS) -  The UN Security Council called on the parties to the conflict, Morocco and Western Sahara to resume direct negotiations, dubbing "unacceptable" the status quo resulting from the stalled peace process.
In its draft resolution on the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to be voted Friday night, the Security Council has affirmed that the progress in the negotiations is necessary for improving the life of the Sahrawi people.
The draft Resolution, finalized after a great deal of negotiation, insists on the need to re-launch the peace process stalled since 2012, calling on the parties to the conflict to engage in "direct negotiations without preconditions and in good faith.
The blockade of the peace process for six years is a source of concern for the Security Council, which mentioned in the first two versions of the draft resolution a situation "of stalemate."
But this reference directly designating Morocco as the party responsible for halting negotiations was removed from the final draft, under the influence of France.
In this regard, the Security Council reaffirmed "its full support" to the UN Secretary-General and his personal envoy, Horst Kohler, to revive a fifth round of negotiations through a new dynamic "with a view to achieving a mutually acceptable political solution that guarantees the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination."
The final version has not undergone significant changes in comparison with the first version under negotiation for several days.
The six months prolonging of MINURSO mandate instead of a year should give the opportunity to the Security Council to put the Sahrawi issue back on the table in October. (SPS)
062/SPS/APS