Sahara: Paris Hails UN Decision Extending MINURSO Mandate & Welcoming Morocco’s Autonomy Plan

France hailed this Monday the adoption by the UN Security Council of Resolution 2414, extending the mandate of MINURSO until 31 October 2018 and welcoming the “serious and credible” Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara.

“Paris fully supports this mission, which plays a vital role in promoting peace and stability in the region”, said the French Foreign Ministry in a press release.

“Resolution 2414 calls for the implementation of a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution” said the Quai d’Orsay, noting that France will continue to support to this end the action of Secretary General Personal Envoy Horst Köhler.

The UN Security Council affirmed its full support for the Secretary General and his personal envoy for the Sahara to relaunch negotiations with “a new dynamic and a new spirit” with the aim of reaching a mutually acceptable political solution.

The Council also called on the Polisario separatist group (which is armed, sheltered and financed by Algeria) to withdraw immediately its militias from the buffer strip in Guerguerat, expressing concern over the secessionists’ provocative moves and calling on the mercenaries to refrain from any such destabilizing actions.

Convinced of the involvement of Algeria in the regional conflict of the Sahara, the Council urged “the neighboring States to cooperate more fully with the United Nations and with each other and to strengthen their involvement and to achieve progress towards a political solution”.

Sunday, the rich oil Gulf country of Kuwait renewed, through its ministry of Foreign Affairs, its firm and constant stance supporting Morocco’s territorial integrity and stressing the importance of solving the Sahara issue within the framework of the sovereignty of the North African Kingdom.

The United States also gave credence to the serious, credible and realistic character of Morocco’s autonomy proposal as a sound basis for negotiations.

“We continue to view Morocco’s autonomy plan as serious, credible, and realistic, and it represents one potential approach to satisfy the aspirations of the people in Western Sahara to run their own affairs with peace and dignity,” the US mission to New York said in a statement on its website following the UN Security Council vote on Resolution 2414.