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Morocco welcomed on Wednesday, October the 31st, the adoption of a new resolution on Western Sahara. «Adopting resolution 2440 is seen as a major step in the solving of the Western Sahara conflict. It introduced new factors, confirmed some facts and reaffirmed the fundamental parameters», said Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Omar Hilal.
The new resolution «considers, for the first time ever, Algeria as a main party to the process seeking to find a realistic, practical and durable political solution to the Sahara issue», he added. The diplomat stressed that the neighboring country «will participate to the meeting (scheduled for the 5th and 6th of December in Geneva), alongside Morocco and Mauritania».
Resolution 2440
The resolution published at the end of the meeting held Wednesday by the Security Council, however, brings a different version of the story. The text indicates that it «supports the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, former President Horst Köhler of Germany, and welcomes the engagement of the parties and neighboring states with him in his efforts to facilitate direct negotiations».
The text reiterates «its call upon the parties and the neighboring states to cooperate more fully with the United Nations and with each other, to strengthen their involvement in the political process and to achieve progress towards a political solution».
But when the resolution does not use the term «neighboring states» to describe Algeria and Mauritania, it prefers to consider them as «states of the region» and not as parties that are involved in the conflict.
The UN «urges the parties and neighboring states to engage productively with MINURSO as it further considers how new technologies can be used to reduce risk, improve force protection, and better implement its mandate».
The only time that the security council refers to the «parties» and «neighboring countries» without distinguishing between them is it says that it welcomes «the decisions of Morocco, the Frente POLISARO, Algeria and Mauritania to accept the invitation of the Personal Envoy to participate in a roundtable meeting in Geneva on December 5-6, 2018, without preconditions and in good faith, and welcoming consultations between the Personal Envoy and Morocco, the Frente POLISARO, Algeria and Mauritania in this regard».
It is the only paragraph that was interpreted by Ambassador Omar Hilale as a «proof» that supports his last statement.
