Morocco Calls on Algeria to Engage Honestly in Resolving the Sahara Issue
By Mourad Anouar
Morocco News Tribune
Oklahoma, U.S.A| Omar Hilale, the Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations Office at Geneva, called on Algeria to “engage in all sincerity in the search for a political solution to the dispute over Sahara issue agreed on by both parties, Moroccan magazine Hespress reported.
The Moroccan ambassador pointed out that that “paragraph 106 in the section on the observations and recommendations contained in the latest report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on human rights protection in Sahara indicates that all the parties have the responsibility in protecting human rights”, which means, “this recommendation, according to international law, also directed to Algeria as a country which receives people at Tindouf camps, the magazine reported.
The Magazine stated that the Moroccan ambassador’s call came according to the resolutions of the Security Council of April 2007, which “calls on the parties and countries in the region to cooperate fully with the United Nations and with each other to reach a political solution,”
The Moroccan diplomat confirmed that Algeria is a “party to the conflict on three levels: the first one is the political process in order to search for a political settlement, agreed on, to this dispute. The second one is on the humanitarian level for the implementation of confidence-building measures for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the third one the respect and protection of human rights at Tindouf camps,” the same source added.
With regard to the human rights situation in Sahara, the Moroccan diplomat cited that Morocco ” has fulfilled its obligations in full, whether national or international, to ensure its respect for human rights of all its citizens and in the whole national territory,”
Hilale added that Morocco’s respect for human rights was highlighted by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in his report of April 2011, in which the latter appreciated Morocco’s efforts in respecting Human rights.
Hilale’s statement came after Key officials in both countries, Morocco and Algeria, have released conflicting statements about who is responsible for the stalemate.
Hilale’s call came after Mr. Abdelilah Benkirane, Morocco’s premier, has accused, during an interview with a French TV channel, Algeria of unwilling to cooperate, a statement denounced by a spokesman for the Algerian Foreign Ministry, Mr. Ammar Blani who stated that “we repeat over and over that the Sahara issue is not a dual dispute between Morocco and Algeria; it is rather the responsibility of the United Nations and the entire world knows it,”
Belani stressed in a statement to the Algerian media this week that his country “is committed to the application of the principles of the United Nations and the international community to promote a solution on the basis of self-determination for the Saharawi people,”