Brussels, July 1, 2016 (SPS) - The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini underlined the “key” role of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), pointing out that the European Union (EU) “shares” the position of the UN Security Council which stressed the need for the mission to fully exercise its functions again.
The resolution of the UN Security Council adopted on 29 April “recognizes the key role played by the MINURSO on the ground and the need for the mission to fully exercise its functions again. EU shares this position and supports the ongoing efforts of the UN secretary general,” she affirmed in her reply to the Euro-MP Miguel Viegas who called on her to intervene on the expulsion from Western Sahara of the civilian staff of the MINURSO.
In this regard, Mogherini reaffirmed EU’s support to the efforts of the UN secretary general to “reach a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution which allows the Sahrawi people to exercise their right to self-determination as part of the arrangements in accordance with the objectives and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”
UN Security Council adopted, at the end of April, a resolution extending by one year MINURSO’s mandate and dubbing “urgent” that the mission exercises again its functions within 90 days. (SPS)
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