Morocco’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Omar Hilale, emphasized that assessing the UN’s role in the Moroccan Sahara issue is the exclusive responsibility of the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council.
In response to a question about Morocco’s view on the recent statement by the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for the Moroccan Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, in his recent briefing to the Security Council regarding a potential reassessment of the UN’s role in the Sahara issue over the next six months due to a lack of progress, Hilale replied in a press briefing that “reassessing the UN’s role in the Sahara issue is beyond his concern and does not fall under his authority; it is strictly within the purview of the Secretary-General and Security Council members.”
Following the adoption of the new Security Council resolution on the Moroccan Sahara, Hilale clarified that “the Personal Envoy’s mandate is to facilitate finding a solution between the parties.” He stressed that, to achieve tangible progress, the Personal Envoy must use his authority to facilitate a solution “in accordance with his mandate from the Secretary-General and Security Council resolutions.”
The Moroccan diplomat referred to the “UN guide for facilitating negotiations,” which provides “clear guidelines on the role of facilitators: the first principle is to exercise their mandate, and the second is to demonstrate the necessary firmness.”
Hilale urged the Personal Envoy to show the required resolve to restart the roundtable process, adding, “We ask him to implement his mandate and act with determination. Has he done so? We don’t believe so.”
Ambassador Hilale stressed, “We encourage the Personal Envoy to use his authority effectively instead of yielding to Algeria’s refusals.” He noted that previous envoys, Christopher Ross and Horst Köhler, never sought Algeria’s or other parties’ input regarding the dates or locations for holding the Manhasset negotiations or the Geneva roundtables. He added, “We expect Mr. de Mistura to act in the same manner and to demonstrate the necessary firmness.”
Regarding the assessment of the situation, Hilale stated that “Morocco is not seeking to evaluate the UN’s role.” He emphasized that “progress in April will be measured by whether roundtables in Geneva are held or not.”
In this context, Hilale mentioned Switzerland’s recent announcement of its willingness to host the third roundtable, stating, “We have the venue; what is now needed is the Personal Envoy’s authority and activation of his mandate.”
