Addis Ababa, 10 February 2020 (SPS) – President of Algeria, Abdelmajid Tebboune, has urged the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres to "rapidly" appoint his Personal Envoy and to revive the settlement process in Western Sahara.
"It must be noted with regret that since the resignation of the UN Secretary-General's personal envoy, Horst Kohler, the UN peace process has been on a rocky road. Moreover, a few days ago, I sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General urging him to hasten the appointment of his Personal Envoy and to relaunch the Western Sahara settlement process," said President Tebboune in his address to the 33rd African Union (AU) Summit.
The question of Western Sahara has still not been resolved, despite the fact that "for many years, the United Nations and the Security Council, supported by our continental organization, have been working for the implementation of the settlement plan for the question of Western Sahara based on the inalienable right of the Saharawi people to self-determination," he said.
Moreover, The President of the Republic, emphasized the need for "a solution that guarantees the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, through the organization of a free and fair referendum in accordance with the AU and UN relevant resolutions."
In this respect, he reiterated Algeria's attachment to the "immutable nature of the African position in favour of the just Saharawi cause and the completion of the decolonization process in Africa, far from any prevarication manoeuvre and the status quo policy."
Meanwhile, President Tebboune "praised the major achievements and the efficient contribution of the African Union in building peace at the continental and regional levels, through the establishment of institutional frameworks of peace and security mechanisms." (SPS)
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