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Will Horst Kohler be replaced by an African successor ? The idea is making its way to the countries concerned by the Western Sahara question. «The UN Secretary-General would be in favor of the idea», a source close to the file told Yabiladi.
According to the same source, which requested anonymity, Antonio Guterres has proposed to appoint an African national, from a French-speaking country, as the new UN Secretary-General's personal envoy for Western Sahara. «The United States, an important mediator in the territorial dispute, has reportedly given the go-ahead to the candidacy proposed by the Secretary-General. The same thing goes for France», the same source said.
Morocco and Algeria to examine the candidacy
Antonio Guterres’ proposal was transmitted to the representatives of Morocco and Algeria, who were asked to examine it and then submit their opinions.
In Algeria, pro-Polisario parties are not really in favor of the candidacy, suggested by Antonio Guterres. The same source revealed that Algeria reportedly have reservations on the nationality of Horst Kohler’s successor.
These reservations have been transmitted to the Portuguese diplomat by the Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum, who flew to New York last week. The Minister held a meeting the UN headquarters with Guterres on June 10.
At the time, the Algerian press agency reported, quoting an Algerian diplomatic source, that Boukadoum and Guterres «discussed regional and international issues as well as Algeria’s cooperation with the United Nations».
To Morocco, having an African diplomat succeed Horst Kohler is not really an obstacle, as long as their mandate is exclusively under the auspices of the United Nations and not the African Union.
The kingdom indeed wants to permanently keep the continental organization away from the territorial issue.
For the record, since its creation in 1997 by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the role has always been reserved for European and American diplomats : American diplomats James Baker (March 1997 - June 2004) and Christopher Ross (January 2009 - March 2017), and Dutch nationals Peter van Walsum (July 2005 - September 2008) and the German Horst Köhler (August 2017 - May 2019).
