Morocco’s conference on the Sahara : Guterres calls member states to support the UN’s efforts

One day after Morocco hosted a ministerial conference on the African Union's role in supporting the UN-led political process, the United Nations Secretary-General responded to that, supporting the efforts of his personal envoy to Western Sahara.

In a daily press briefing, held Tuesday, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric was asked by a reporter about the fact that «thirty‑seven African Union delegations made a declaration in support of the UN's exclusive process on the Sahara issue».

Responding to that, Dujarric said that the Secretary-General’s «response is in the work and the effort of his Special Envoy, Mr. [Horst] Köhler, who you know just finished a latest round of discussions with the parties».

He added that Antonio Guterres hopes that «all Member States support the UN's effort, as they are… as Mr Köhler's efforts are being mandated by the Security Council».

Indeed, thirty-seven countries, including Morocco, attended Monday in Marrakech the conference that was held a few days after the Kingdom participated to the second Geneva round-table, alongside Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario Front.

This conference was held as South Africa, one of the Polisario’s biggest allies in Africa, hosted a meeting that supports the Front. This conference was organized by the Southern African Development Community Development Community (SADC).