United Nations - The second informal restricted meeting, in preparation for the fifth round of negotiations aiming to find a political and final solution to the regional dispute over the Sahara, started on Wednesday in the city of Armonk, New York outskirts, the United Nations said.
"The talks started this morning in Armonk" in Westchester County, a UN source said.

The Moroccan delegation is composed of Foreign minister Taib Fassi Fihri, Director of Morocco's intelligence agency (DGED) Mohamed Yassine Mansouri, and Secretary General of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS) Maouelainin Ben Khalihanna Maouelainin.

Besides Morocco, the delegations of Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario are taking part in the second informal meeting on the Sahara, which is part of the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions 1813 and 1871, adopted in April 2008 and April 2009 respectively.

These resolutions call upon all parties to engage in intense and substantial negotiations, while taking account of the efforts made by Morocco since 2006, and showing realism and a spirit of compromise to achieve a political and final solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.

This second informal meeting takes place following four rounds of negotiations held in Manhasset in 2007 and 2008 under the auspices of the former personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Peter Van Walsum.

+For productive and substantial talks +

In this context, the Moroccan delegation taking part in the New York meeting shows again its readiness to negotiate a realistic and feasible solution on the basis of the Moroccan autonomy initiative commended by the UN Security Council as serious and credible.

During the talks, the Moroccan delegation will emphasize the relevance of this initiative, recall the democratic process which led to its elaboration, showcase its substantial content, prove its conformity with international legality and analyze its regional impact.
Morocco, as did in other meetings, will underline the outdated frame of reference of the so-called proposal made by the other parties, its obsolete import, its biased interpretation of the principle of self-determination and its philosophy contrary to the position outlined by the Security Council and wished by the International Community to resolve this regional dispute.

While underscoring that the referendum option is not viable, the Moroccan delegation will make it clear that the referendum is very rare in the UN practice since almost all conflicts are resolved through negotiations between parties.

Following the announcement of the second set of informal talks, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "encouraged the parties to make further progress and urged focused and productive discussions."

The UNSG said he was pleased that the parties have agreed to the proposal made by his Personal Envoy Christopher Ross that the next set of informal talks on the Sahara be held on February 10-11.

The first informal meeting was held in August 2009 in Austria.

 

Source : Maghreb Arab Press