UN: Morocco Reaffirms Autonomy Plan for Sahara Offers Lasting Solution to this Regional Conflict

Head of Morocco’s Govt Saad-Eddine El Othmani said on Tuesday in New York, that his country is working earnestly to find a lasting political solution to the Sahara regional dispute, but made it clear that the Kingdom’s total sovereignty over its southern provinces is absolutely non-negotiable.

Addressing the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly, Mr. El Otmani stressed that the autonomy initiative, described by the United Nations Security Council as serious and credible, offers an enduring resolution to this artificial conflict.

He welcomed the efforts made by the UN Secretary General to reach a realistic, pragmatic and sustainable political solution based on compromise, in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2468 adopted in April 2019.

The Head of government said the lamentable situation of the Sahrawis sequestered in the Polisario-controlled Tindouf camps continues to be a source of great concern for Morocco.

He, once again, called on the international community to act to make Algeria shoulder its legal and humanitarian responsibilities to register and count the populations of these camps and respect their human rights, which are systematically violated by the militias of the Polisario separatist group that is armed, funded and sheltered by the Algerian regime.

Mr. El Otmani also tackled latest developments on the international scene, saying Morocco, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, supports a multilateral approach in dealing with global challenges and defending African interests and causes.

He recalled in this regard Morocco’s return to its institutional family, the African Union, and its Africa-oriented policy that seeks to bolster a solidarity-based South-South cooperation as the Kingdom has become the 2nd largest investor in the continent.

The Head of the Moroccan Govt also stressed the importance of multilateralism to counter terror threats, migration issues and global climate change.

“The multilateralism to which we aspire also includes the consolidation of international peace and security, which is the main mission of the United Nations,” explained Mr. El Otmani.

Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he renewed Morocco’s constant support to the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people, the full rejection of the Kingdom of any change in the status of the Holy City of Al Quds and its firm condemnation of the Israeli illegal settlement policy.

Morocco is “convinced that there can be no just and lasting peace without the respect of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to the establishment of an independent State with Al-Quds as its capital,” underlined the Head of Govt.