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While Morocco welcomed the new resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, 31st of October, in Washington, the Polisario Front did not hesitate to highlight its disappointment.
In an article published on its «official news agency», SPS, the Polisario Front stated that it took «note of the adoption by the UN Security Council of its resolution 2440 (2018) by which it decided to extend the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) for a period of six months».
Unlike the previous years, when the Front was the first party to back UN resolutions on the Sahara, it decided this time to «call on the Security Council to use its collective weight to advance direct negotiations between the two parties».
In a statement made public by SPS, the Front indicated that it «took note», as well, of the Security Council’s «call upon the two parties … to resume negotiations under the auspices» of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The negative factors of the resolution for the Polisario
But while the Front preferred to implicitly express its dissatisfaction regarding the new resolution, pro-Polisario online newspaper Futuro Sahara addressed that in a more explicit way. According to the same source, Resolution 2440 «brought several negative factors» that affect the position of the Polisario.
«It is the worst resolution on Western Sahara to be adopted by the UN Security Council so far», wrote Futuro Sahara. The latter believes that the resolution described the meeting to be held in Geneva in December the 5th and 6th and to be attended by Morocco, the Front, Mauritania and Algeria, as talks.
An appellation that the Polisario refuses as it considers the meeting in Geneva as direct negotiations.
Moreover, Futuro Sahara points out that the resolution did not identify the «status of the countries to take part in the Geneva talks» but called them «neighboring states» instead.
However, the most «dangerous» point highlighted by the resolution is that the security Council «welcomed the autonomy plan introduced by the Kingdom of Morocco in 2007», wrote Futuro Sahara.
Algeria's silence and Morocco's position
Meanwhile, Algeria which is attending the «talks» in Geneva as a «neighboring state» did not comment on the adoption of the new resolution. On its official news agency, APS, Algiers reported the extension of the MINURSO’s mandate without referring to the content of resolution 2440.
For the record, Morocco welcomed on Wednesday the adoption of the 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», concluded the diplomat.
