Algeria rallies diplomatic support ahead of Sahara vote
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Yabiladi
Algeria held a conference at the UN on 28 and 29 October on self-determination and the humanitarian needs of Sahrawi populations, with several African countries and Oxfam taking part. The initiative comes ahead of the renewal of MINURSO’s mandate, according to Yabiladi.
Algeria brought together African diplomats and Oxfam representatives at the UN on 28 and 29 October to discuss self-determination and the humanitarian situation in the Sahara, two days before the vote on renewing MINURSO’s mandate, according to Yabiladi. The conference was organised by Algeria’s permanent mission to the UN, headed by Ambassador Amar Bendjama.
Representatives of Angola, Namibia, South Africa and Uganda took part in the discussions, notably on the needs of people in the Tindouf camps, according to Yabiladi. Several NGOs supporting the Polisario’s claims also called on the Security Council to maintain MINURSO’s mandate and rejected the idea of making Morocco’s autonomy plan the most realistic solution to the conflict.
The Algerian mobilisation came after a photographic exhibition on Sahrawi exile, scheduled for 27 to 30 October at the UN, was cancelled. The UN Secretariat dismantled it after an objection from the Moroccan mission, which denounced the political nature of the messages presented, Yabiladi reports.
South Africa meanwhile reaffirmed its support for the Polisario during its ambassador’s visit to the Rabouni camp, where he met Brahim Ghali. On 15 October, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf and his South African counterpart Ronald Lamola had also confirmed their convergence on the Sahara issue, according to Yabiladi.
