eeting in New York on Tuesday, November 10, the UN General Assembly debated Russia’s October 30 veto, which sank the renewal of MINURSO at the Security Council. The mission closed on October 31, after 35 years in the Sahara.
Convened under the veto initiative, the meeting held no vote and could not restore the mandate.
Russia said the American text sidelined the Polisario and reflected only Morocco’s position. The United States replied that the Russian draft sought to strip out the references to the autonomy plan.
Morocco’s ambassador, Omar Hilale, accused Algeria of orchestrating the dispute and of blocking the registration of the people in the Tindouf camps for half a century. The Sahara, he said, was Moroccan before October 30, and it is “even more Moroccan after October 30.”
Algeria welcomed the veto. The European Union regretted the end of the only UN mechanism monitoring the 1991 ceasefire, and the Gulf Cooperation Council restated its support for the autonomy plan.
Under the royal instructions of November 4, the Coordination Office with MINURSO, attached to the interior ministry, will oversee the liquidation and withdrawal of the mission on the ground.
Photo: Basil D Soufi, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Nations unies - General Assembly Scrutinizes Veto that Ended UN Mission in Western Sahara After 35 Years
Cabinet royal - Communiqué du Cabinet royal
