APA-Rabat (Morocco) – Voted on Monday 30 October by 13 votes in favour and 2 abstentions, UN Security Council Resolution 2703 on the Sahara reiterates its support for the Moroccan autonomy initiative. Political scientist Mohamed Bouden gives his interpretation of this resolution.
Resolution 2703 of the United Nations Security Council meets Morocco’s expectations while taking into account the progress made by the Kingdom, as well as the evolution of the international perception of a political solution based on the Moroccan autonomy initiative, emphasised Mohamed Bouden, political scientist and President of the Atlas Centre for the Analysis of Political and Institutional Indicators.
This initiative was strongly supported when the Resolution was adopted by countries such as the United States, France, Gabon and the United Arab Emirates. This support testifies to the crucial importance of the autonomy initiative, as well as the constructive scope of its dimensions,” he wrote in an analysis provided to APA.
According to him, this decision testifies to the constant willingness of influential international players to support the Moroccan autonomy initiative for the 16th consecutive year within the Security Council. In contrast, UN resolutions have made no reference to self-determination by referendum for the 22nd consecutive year.
“UN Resolution 2703 is the expression of a coherent international position in favour of a realistic, pragmatic and workable political solution. It also opens up a new opportunity to move the political process forward by confirming support for the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Staffan De Mistura, and underlining the need to build on the momentum of the round tables held in 2018 and 2019. It is a reminder of the importance of the political process as an irreversible choice,” political analyst Mohamed Bouden noted.
The content of the UN resolution clearly reflects the opinion of the international community on the current state of the political process and urges Algeria to respond sincerely and faithfully to the international will.
“It is therefore incumbent on Algeria to read the UN resolution carefully and to refrain from empty reactions and indiscriminate actions, given that it remains the main party involved in this artificial conflict. The international community is now assessing Algeria on the basis of its actions and behaviour, rather than its rhetoric,” he explained.
The measures set out in the UN resolution will play a decisive role in promoting peace and security, overarching objectives of the United Nations. This will be achieved through active measures based on the principle of action against action, and by exerting pressure on Algeria to engage in the political process in accordance with Resolution 2703 and a series of related resolutions adopted since 2007, which number twenty, he noted.
It is clear that the international community is firmly opposed, for the 13th consecutive year, to Algeria’s persistent refusal to register the population of the Tindouf camps in accordance with the 1953 Refugee Convention. The general situation in the camps, including their continued militarisation, raises significant humanitarian concerns.
For him, the new United Nations resolution sends a strong signal and an unequivocal message to Algeria, calling on it to assume its responsibilities at several levels, as well as to the Polisario regarding their involvement in restricting the secure supply process of the MINURSO mission and the free movement of its personnel within the operational framework.
“This resolution reinforces the positive progress made on the Moroccan Sahara issue, and maintains decisive demands and provisions in line with the principles of sovereignty expressed in the speeches of King Mohammed VI. This decision, in many respects, testifies to Morocco’s success in promoting its sovereign position, in accordance with the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said the President of the Atlas Centre for the Analysis of Political and Institutional Indicators.
Through the content of the UN resolution and the renewal of MINURSO’s mandate for a further year, the Security Council “gives priority to a constructive political path, to peace and stability in the Sahel and Sahara region. This is a major development in this dossier, at a time marked by tensions and a lack of opportunities for direct dialogue between the parties concerned,” he concluded.
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