2024-05-09 09:26:20
“South Africa was and will remain a marginal actor in the issue of the Moroccan Sahara and a dissonant voice, without any influence or weight, in this issue,” said Mr. Bourita in response to a question about the visit this week. last visit to South Africa of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Moroccan Sahara, Staffan de Mistura.
During a press briefing following the work of the Ministerial Segment of the High-Level Conference on Middle-Income Countries, the Minister stressed that the current dynamic experienced by this issue is marked by the growing number of withdrawals of the recognition of the puppet entity as well as the growing recognition of the Moroccan nature of the Sahara and the support for the autonomy initiative by credible powers on an international scale.
Morocco, he insisted, relies on three non-negotiable elements in the handling of this issue: the identification of the parties concerned by the regional dispute around the Moroccan Sahara, the consecration of round tables as the sole framework of the UN process, and the confirmation of the autonomy initiative within the framework of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom as the one and only solution to the artificial conflict.
“These three elements constitute the fundamental determinant of Morocco’s action and its interaction with international parties and the Personal Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations. When they are transgressed, Morocco takes appropriate measures,” a- he noted, stressing that the Kingdom deals with UN envoys in accordance with the principles of transparency, consultation and coordination for the success of this process.
South Africa, which has adopted a negative position on the Sahara question for twenty years, has neither the aptitude nor the capacity to influence the course of this issue, affirmed the minister, stressing that this has been proven by its inability to influence decisions in its geographical environment, since 27 countries have since withdrawn their recognition of the ghostly entity, half of which are SADC members and a third of them have opened consulates in Dakhla and in Laâyoune.
“Although South Africa has been a member of the Security Council three times since its recognition of the puppet entity, it has been unable to prevent the adoption of any of the Security Council resolutions, which support all the autonomy initiative, identify the parties to the conflict and establish the round table process,” he observed.
In this regard, Mr. Bourita recalled the election of Morocco to the presidency of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the year 2024 with a large majority of votes.
At the level of the African Union, the minister noted that South Africa tried to hinder Morocco’s return to the Pan-African organization as well as its access to the Peace and Security Council, but the Kingdom remains strongly present for six years.
2024-05-09 09:26:20