UN Security Council foils Algeria’s maneuvers to eschew responsibility on Sahara issue

Algeria tried in vain to omit itself from being mentioned in the latest UN Security Council resolution on the Sahara that called on it to resume roundtables as a main party to the Sahara conflict.

The resolution renewing the mandate of the UN mission in the Sahara, considered 2007- the year Morocco submitted its autonomy plan- as the reference year.

Algeria’s representative ranted at the UN Security Council after Algeria’s two amendments were rejected as the final text stresses Algeria’s responsibility and calls on it to engage in good faith and without pre-conditions in a round table process to reach a political, feasible, and realistic solution based on compromise.

Algeria also failed to introduce an amendment to give the UN mission in the Sahara, MINURSO, a human rights mandate.

Even Russia, often described by Algerian officials as an ally, rejected Algeria’s amendments.

The resolution was adopted with 12 votes in favorand two abstentions while Algeria rejected to take part in the vote.

The speech by Algeria’s representative is reflective of the state of isolation Algeria suffers in international organizations as a result of its pursuit of a separatist chimera in Morocco’s Sahara.

The Algerian representative bemoaned that his country’s proposals were “deliberately ignored,” while ranting at the resolution penholder, the United States, to no avail.

The new resolution like its predecessors since 2007 makes no reference to the referendum option that Algeria defends and calls instead for a solution based on compromise while considering Morocco’s autonomy plan as serious and credible.