MAP
New York (United Nations) – Morocco’s ambassador to the United Nations Omar Hilale reiterated Tuesday in New York the Kingdom’s “firm commitment” to the political process which “inevitably requires neutrality of the UN Secretariat”, warning that any attempt to alter the mandate of the MINURSO “could even jeopardize its very existence”.
“I would like to reiterate our firm commitment to the political process which “inevitably requires the neutrality of the UN Secretariat and the impartiality of the MINURSO to ensure discourses in Rabat, Algiers, Tindouf and New York are identical and avoid tension-generating and trust-eroding doublespeak”, Moroccan diplomat told MAP.
Hilale also referred to “rumours” on an alleged resignation of Christopher Ross the UNSG Personal Envoy for the Sahara which have been subject to recurring questions this week during the UN’s spokesperson press briefings.
Morocco “does not react to rumours particularly when they are subject of questions and answers already prepared in certain floors of the UN Secretariat in order to make pressure” on Morocco, he said, regretting the fact that “some UN services allow themselves to be exploited for this purpose”.
“What is important in political negotiations are not persons, but the process itself,” Hilale, pointed out.
Morocco remains “committed to the political process of negotiations under the auspices of the UNSG and the UN Security Council”, Moroccan ambassador added, underlining the Kingdom’s “full resolve to do everything possible in order to reach a mutually acceptable and lasting political solution” to the regional dispute over the Sahara on the basis of the Moroccan autonomy plan.