MINURSO mandate set to end in the Sahara, Rabat says
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Lebrief, Le Matin and Aujourd’hui le Maroc
Morocco’s Royal Cabinet has announced that MINURSO’s mandate will not be renewed by the UN Security Council, ending the mission’s 35-year presence in the Sahara, according to LeBrief and Le Matin. Rabat presents the development as a step towards closing the issue at the UN and says more than two-thirds of the organisation’s members support its autonomy plan, according to Le Matin.
The end of MINURSO’s presence in Morocco’s southern provinces is expected in the coming days, with the departure of its personnel, vehicles, equipment and symbols, according to the Royal Cabinet cited by Le Matin.
The Royal Cabinet also believes that the non-renewal of the mandate will bring an end to the Security Council’s examination of the issue and its removal from the agenda. The periodic meetings devoted to the Sahara, the UN secretary-general’s reports and briefings by his personal envoy should therefore no longer take place, according to Le Matin.
Rabat says the UN political process is suspended and that similar steps will soon be taken with other UN bodies. Morocco nevertheless says it remains committed to the ceasefire and maintains that its diplomatic momentum is continuing at bilateral and regional levels. According to the Royal Cabinet, cited by Le Matin, more than two-thirds of UN members, including permanent members of the Security Council, support autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as a framework for resolving the dispute.
