Pretoria (South Africa), April 15, 2020 (SPS) - The South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Kingdom of Morocco is a country that occupies parts of Western Sahara, reiterating its principled position in support of the United Nations efforts to resolve the conflict on the basis of international legitimacy and decisions of the African Union.
South Africa's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in response to an article published by the Moroccan media, on the recent debate between South Africa and the United Nations Security Council on the occupied territory of Western Sahara "has ratified its support to the exercise of the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination, stressing that its foreign policy "is always based on principles and not on convenience."
"South Africa's approach to Western Sahara is guided by the position of the African Union, which has always supported the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, in accordance with AU decisions and UN Security Council relevant resolutions "the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation underlines in a statement published this Monday.
"This statement serves to correct the attempt to caricature South Africa's principled position on issues of anti-occupation and decolonization and aims to correct the attempt to present South Africa's principled positions on these issues as" out of date with most nations of the world " , added the South African ministry.
South Africa "especially regrets that the Security Council was unable to move the peace process forward." This is regrettable, as the people of Western Sahara continue to suffer from the occupation and their fight for their right to self-determination continues. "
As an elected member of the United Nations Security Council, the Ministry stressed that South Africa takes the opportunity to reiterate once again its firm commitment to efforts to achieve a peaceful solution that guarantees the principle of self-determination of the people of the Western Sahara in line with the approach of the United Nations and the African Union.
South Africa "unequivocally and firmly supports the work and mandate of MINURSO and urges the United Nations Security Council to assume its responsibilities and ensure that, through a neutral and balanced approach, it helps the parties to move towards a negotiated mutually and acceptable solution. " SPS
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