The petitioners, from Europe, Asia, Oceania, America and Africa, take part in the debates which opened on Tuesday and runs until next Thursday.

    The delegation includes former senior UN officials, academics and observers who will share their views on the issue and show to members of the UN 4th Committee the relevance of the Moroccan autonomy initiative for the Sahara, which was described as "serious and credible" by the UN Security Council.

   Last year many participants deplored, before the same Committee, Algeria's and polisario's lack of political will to resolve a conflict that hampers the future of the Maghreb peoples.

   Last October, the Fourth Committee adopted by consensus the resolution on the Moroccan Sahara. A consensus that shows, according to observers, the convergence of the Security Council and General Assembly on the fundamentals of the political solution sought by the international community.