Negotiations on the Moroccan-Saharan conflict moved forward under the personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura, who held a series of informal meetings with the parties to the conflict in New York, including with the representative of Algeria, the main party on file.
At the headquarters of the United Nations Secretariat in New York, de Mistura held informal bilateral consultations with Omar Hilal, Permanent Ambassador of Morocco to the United Nations.
De Mistura and Hilal studied the Moroccan-Saharan conflict and the international efforts and the efforts of the Personal Envoy for the Sahara Conflict to revitalize the political process of the conflict, melt the ice of divisions, and examine the views of those concerned about its formula. and the degree of its effectiveness.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to soften positions in order to achieve the goals of the Personal Envoy and the Secretary-General to make progress, however modest, that would bring this process back to the fore after years of hiatus.
The Personal Envoy for the Sahara Conflict explained to the Moroccan Ambassador the views of the various international actors involved and their positions on the conflict, as well as the extent to which they were supported and encouraged by the efforts made, and the role of the United Nations Mission. in the Sahara, MINURSO, to ensure security and stability.
For his part, the Ambassador of the Kingdom stressed during the meeting the positive participation of Morocco in international efforts to resolve the case in accordance with the initiative of autonomy as the only basis for resolving the conflict, as well as its support for the efforts and goals of de Mistura. in revitalizing the political process in the same format as before, connected with round tables, in the presence of four stakeholders, in the same capacity and at the same level.
It should be noted that Staffan de Mistura met with the ambassadors of the countries of the Moroccan-Saharan group in the Security Council, and this includes representatives of the United States of America, France, Great Britain, Russia and Spain, as well as chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Mission of Algiers to the United Nations and the representative POLISARIO in New York, as well as United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, in preparation for a session on the dispute in April 2023.
Abdelnabi Sabry, professor of international relations at Suissy University in Rabat, said that the UN resolution, adopted late last year, focuses primarily on the constants of the political solution to the Moroccan Sahara issue, including binding the parties concerned, Algeria to participate in consultations organized by personal envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Sabry added in a statement to Hespress that Morocco’s 2007 offer of autonomy remains the only possible solution and the most appropriate option for the Moroccan-Saharan conflict, stressing that Morocco is joining the United Nations consultations. supported by countries with political influence, whether in the Security Council or in regional blocs.
