Morocco Approves UN Special Envoy for Sahara, Accuses Algeria of Obstruction

Morocco has agreed to the appointment of a new special envoy, Nasser Bourita said at a press conference held on Monday, on the sidelines of the inauguration of Senegal’s consulate in Dakhla, stressing that Algeria and the Polisario are working to block it. "We must ask who continues to hinder the appointment of a personality, refusing several candidates," questions the head of Moroccan diplomacy. According to him, "the real parties to the conflict (of the Sahara) are Morocco and Algeria", given the degree of Algeria’s involvement.

These statements by the Moroccan minister come a few days before the next meeting of the Security Council scheduled for April 21. The Sahara issue is also on the agenda of this meeting. Morocco reaffirms its autonomy plan for the Sahara supported by the UN and many countries as a settlement of this long-standing conflict. "Morocco calls for involving Algeria in any future solution, given that it is a stakeholder in the conflict," Bourita said. He also said that the neighbor to the east encourages the violation of the ceasefire by the Polisario militias.

Regarding the Algerian calls to extend the role of MINURSO to monitoring respect for human rights, Nasser Bourita believes that "Algeria is the last country that can talk about human rights." He was keen to specify that the essential role of MINURSO is to ensure respect for the ceasefire. A difficult task for the UN mission due to the multiple provocations of the Polisario elements, which had led the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) to carry out a military operation to liberate the buffer zone of El Guerguerat blocked for weeks by the militiamen of the independence movement. For its part, the kingdom displays its willingness to respect the ceasefire agreement signed in 1991.