Security Council, MINURSO Part of the Problem, Says Ould Salek

21/12/2020 - 21:00

Algiers, 21 December 2020 (SPS) - Sahrawi Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Salek said Monday the UN Security Council stopped short of imposing a solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, becoming with MINURSO (UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara) a "part of the problem."

"Security Council and MINURSO are part of the problem. They even started to try to change the substance of the resolution," the Sahrawi Foreign Minister said in an interview with Le Soir d'Algérie daily newspaper, stressing that MINURSO is a UN mission that "does nothing."

"The ceasefire was broken. It (MINURSO) had the prerogative to act but did nothing," he said.

Referring to the delay in appointing a new UN Secretary General's personal envoy to Western Sahara, the Saharawi minister said "Morocco has refused three envoys," before stressing that the issue of the envoy is a "false problem."

"The United Nations has set up the MINURSO which has a special representative. Why should it have a personal representative? This is a way for them to deviate from the MINURSO mission," Ould Salek said.

On the recent decision by outgoing US President Donald Trump to recognize Morocco’s alleged sovereignty over Western Sahara, Ould Salek said "this has been perceived as a violation of international law."

"This is evidence that the recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty has not been accepted." (SPS)