UN: Morocco Warns against any Irresponsible Move in Western Sahara Regional Dispute

Morocco warned Wednesday at the United Nations against “any irresponsible or risky course of action in connection with the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara”.

In a speech to the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, King Mohammed VI said the Organization’s work “must not be a destabilizing factor for countries that contribute to multilateral cooperation and action,” stressing that Morocco will “reject any irresponsible or risky course of action in connection with the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.”

In the speech that was read out on his behalf by his younger brother Prince Moulay Rachid, the monarch of the North African nation also said that “many influential international powers fully realize that deceitful proposals and unrealistic plans developed inside offices cannot but represent a threat to the situation in the region.”

For the Moroccan sovereign, the United Nations Organization, which is marking its seventieth anniversary, “has reached the age of maturity, wisdom and responsibility. Those same principles and values should govern the action of the international community to resolve regional disputes.”

Morocco hopes “the United Nations Organization will press ahead with its efforts to resolve disputes through peaceful means and will remain committed to upholding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states so that peoples’ aspirations for peace, security and stability may be fulfilled”, said King Mohammed VI in his address which comes amid a diplomatic row between Rabat and Sweden over Stockholm’s new plan to recognize the self-proclaimed Saharwi republic.

All Moroccan political parties have denounced the Swedish move which threatens peace and stability in North Africa. Some experts say the Swedish hostile initiative will not solve the Western Sahara issue, a decades-old conflict which remains unsolved due to the Algeria-backed Polisario front’s rejection of the autonomy plan offered by Morocco.

This plan has been described by the superpowers as “serious, credible and realistic” and as the only viable way to reach a political settlement to the Sahara issue.

Sweden’s move has also been slammed for meddling in UN peace efforts and plans seeking to reach “a peaceful, lasting and mutually acceptable settlement.”