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The Donald Trump administration has issued a new and indirect warning about the situation in the Sahara, urging Morocco and the Front to make progress in the negotiation process. In a UN Security Council Briefing on the Maintenance of International Peace and Security : Mediation and Settlement of Disputes, Political Coordinator of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations Rodney Hunter commented on the issue.
During his remarks at the briefing held on August the 29, he stated that «the United States has made it a priority to push for political progress in places that have long been on our agenda», including, «Cyprus and Western Sahara, where we have peacekeeping missions that have sat on the ground for decades».
The official indicated that «in theory, these missions support political solutions», but according to him «they are perpetuating a status quo». Hunter was referring to the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), a peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, established in 1991 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 690. He compared the latter to the UN mission in Cyprus the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964.
Making progress
Hunter also explained that «the United States is going back to these legacy peacekeeping missions and asking hard questions about what we are achieving».
«We are making a renewed push to see whether the parties are working with the UN to make political progress. And if they are not, we are going to reassess what these missions are doing. Either way, we do mediators no favors when we let the status quo be an end to itself».
Rodney Hunter’s warning goes hand in hand with the threats made by the National Security Advisor of the United States John Bolton who was quoted by the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Niki Haley on April the 29th during a speech she delivered after the adoption of resolution 2414.
These warnings are implicitly targeting Morocco which refuses to engage in direct negotiations with the Polisario without the participation of Algeria as part of the conflict.
The Polisario, on the other hand, announces officially that it is willing to cooperate with the United Nations for a solution to the Western Sahara question.
For the record in his 2016 report, Ban Ki-moon had acknowledged the failure of peace talks in Western Sahara. «I continue to regret that the political process that started in April 2007 has still not paved the way for real negotiations».
