"We welcome with satisfaction the resolution because it reaffirms and confirms the fundamentals of previous resolutions, namely the pre-eminence, the validity and centrality of the Moroccan autonomy, the recognition, once again, of efforts made by Morocco since 2006 and which have given new momentum to negotiations," Morocco's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Mohamed Loulichki, told the press.

    "We are very pleased that the Security Council has, for the first time, included a provision requiring a census of population" in the Tindouf camps, said the Ambassador.

     He also hoped that "our Algerian brothers will enable the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to conduct the census."

    Once the census is made, Loulichki went on, its "results will change, no doubt, the perception by the international community of this dispute, which prevents countries from the region to move towards unity, solidarity and building a common future."

    He also hailed the fact that the resolution welcomed the establishment by Morocco of the National Council for Human Rights (CNDH), as part of reforms announced by HM King Mohammed VI in his speech of March 9.

    Similarly, he noted, the new resolution launches a “call not only to the parties to the conflict but also to the neighbouring states to become more involved and make a constructive contribution to the negotiation process so that it can move towards the desired political solution.”

    The Kingdom has already showed its commitment to steering the negotiations and advancing them through the "innovative" proposals, such as representativeness and good governance, presented by the Moroccan delegation during the last rounds of informal talks.

    "We hope that the other parties respond to the call of the Council,” stressed the Ambassador, adding that Morocco, “as it did in resolution 1920 (2010) will adhere to the new momentum of negotiations created by the UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy, Christopher Ross, to achieve a political solution that respects the sovereignty and the territorial integrity” of the Kingdom.

    "We will approach the next steps that the Personal Envoy will begin with the other parties with optimism and the political determination to move forward and meet the expectation of the international community for a prompt settlement of this artificial dispute,” he concluded.

News and events concerning Western Sahara issue/ Corcas