The deplorable failure of the critics of Morocco to influence the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Sahara issue does not seem to have deterred Algeria from orchestrating a desperate campaign around imaginary violations in the southern provinces.

Responding to these maneuvers, the Ambassador Permanent Representative of the Kingdom in Geneva, Mohamed Auajjar, affirmed that the Security Council remains attached since 2007 to the serious and credible character of the Moroccan autonomy initiative in the Moroccan Sahara.

The diplomat, speaking at the UNHRC debate on the follow-up to the implementation of the Vienna Declaration and its Action Plan, highlighted the Security Council's renewed positive appreciation of the initiative of  Autonomy, reaffirming its serious and credible character in its successive resolutions.

Mr Auajjar said that the positive interaction of the Kingdom with the provisions of the Vienna Declaration stems from its proactive policy and national strategic choices in favor of consolidating democracy, strengthening the rule of law and defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

"A constant commitment, internationally, by the active role of Morocco in the Human Rights Council and cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and various UN human rights mechanisms," he said.

The momentum of pioneering democratic reforms, initiated since mid-1990s, benefits all regions of the Kingdom, starting with the southern provinces.

Indeed, he explained, the process of developing and consolidating local democracy in the Moroccan Sahara continues, since its return to the Motherland in 1975, with the full and effective participation of the local populations, local civil society and representative bodies elected at the regional level.

In this context, the ambassador stressed the adherence of the populations of the Saharan provinces to the various national, regional and local elections, as well as to the development and implementation of development programs in the region.

This implication, he continued, stems from their unwavering attachment to their Moroccanism and their unquestioned rejection of speeches and separatist maneuvers sponsored by opponents of the territorial integrity of the Kingdom.

Moreover, this strong adherence is matched only by the attachment of this same population to the Autonomy Initiative, as a final consensual solution able to put an end to the artificial dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, added the ambassador.

The march of development and opening up of the southern provinces, he concluded, continues with determination and rigor under the leadership of King Mohammed VI and with the unanimous support of all the components of the Nation despite the gesticulations of the enemies of the territorial integrity which violate, on a daily basis, the principles they claim to defend and human rights of their own citizens.

-News on Western Sahara issue/ Corcas