URU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 239: Henvendelse af 19. maj 2016 fra Polisario om Den Afrikanske Unions særlige udsendings briefing af FN's Sikkerhedsråd om Vestsahara

Udenrigsudvalget 2015-16
URU Alm.del Bilag 239
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AFRICAN UNION

UNION AFRICAINE

UNIÃO AFRICANA

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, P.O. Box: 3243 Tel.: (251-11) 5513 822 Fax: (251-11) 5519 321

Email:

[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE

AU Special Envoy for Western Sahara Concludes his Mission to the UN Secretariat and

Briefs the UN Security Council on Western Sahara

Addis Ababa, 1 May 2016:

Within the framework of his mandate, the AU Special Envoy for

Western Sahara,

H.E. former President Joaquim Chissano,

undertook a mission to the UN

Secretariat in New York, from 26 to 29 April 2016. The mission was in implementation of the

AU Organ’s decisions on the situation in Western Sahara, notably the decision adopted at

the 588

meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC), held on 6 April 2016, at

which, Council requested the Chairperson of the Commission to pursue and intensify her

efforts, including through her Special Envoy, towards effective follow-up of the relevant

provisions of its decisions.

During his mission, the AU Special Envoy held consultations with the UN high level officials,

Ambassador Christopher Ross,

UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara;

Mr. Tayé-Brook Zerihoun,

Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs;

Mr. Edmond

Mulet,

Chef de Cabinet to the UN Secretary-General. The AU Special Envoy’s delegation also

met with various representatives of the Permanent Missions to the UN namely,

Ambassador Liu Jieyi

of China, President of the UN Security Council for the month of April;

Ambassador Rafael Dario Ramirez Carreno,

Permanent Representative of Venezuela;

Ambassador Vitaly I. Churkin,

Permanent Representative of Russian Federation to the UN;

the Delegation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR);

Ambassador Gerard

Jacobus Van Bohemen,

Permanent Representative of New Zealand;

Ambassador Michele

Sison,

U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN;

Ambassador Sabri Boukadoum,

Permanent Representative of Algeria to the UN;

Ambassador Elbio Rosselli,

Permanent

Representative of Uruguay to the UN;

Ambassador François Delattre,

Permanent

Representative of France to the UN;

Ambassador Román Oyarzun Marchesi,

Permanent

Representative of Spain to the UN. The AU Special Envoy delegation also held in-depth

consultations with the Permanent Representative of Angola,

Ambassador Ismael A. Gaspar

Martins,

in its capacity as the member of A3.

URU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 239: Henvendelse af 19. maj 2016 fra Polisario om Den Afrikanske Unions særlige udsendings briefing af FN's Sikkerhedsråd om Vestsahara

The AU Special Envoy also briefed the UN Security Council during the Arria-formula Meeting

on Western Sahara, which was jointly organised by the Permanente Missions of Angola and

Venezuela, on 26 April 2016.

The consultations and the briefing provided an opportunity to exchange frank and open

views on the situation in Western Sahara and the efforts being deployed towards resolution

of the conflict. The AU Special Envoy expressed to his interlocutors the deep concern of the

AU about the prolonged suffering of people of Western Sahara and the lack of progress

towards the early resolution of the conflict in the territory on the basis of the international

legality.

In this regard, he commended the timely and bold visit of the UN Secretary-General

undertaken to Western Sahara and the region, from 3 to 7 March 2016, and the serious

resolve the UNSG showed to end the Conflict in the Territory. In the same vein, Former

President Chissano deplored the actions taken by the Moroccan authorities of not receiving

the UNSG in Rabat and also preventing him from visiting MINURSO Headquarters in

Layounne, capital City of the occupied Western Sahara, as well as their unilateral decision of

expelling the civilian Component of the MINURSO.

Former President Chissano stressed the need to change the

status quo

of the current

negotiation framework to serious negotiations without preconditions and in good faith to

reach a just and durable solution to the conflict. He further stressed Africa’s moral and

political responsibility to contribute to the solution to conflicts in the continent and

underlined the need for Africa’s leading role and guidance for the international efforts

regarding the conflict in Western Sahara.

The AU Special Envoy recalled the urgent need to give the people of Western Sahara the

opportunity of choosing freely their destiny through the exercise of their legitimate right to

self-determination, and called on the UN Security Council to facilitate this process by

establishing a timetable for the referendum on self-determination.

The AU Special Envoy also expressed concerns over issues relating to the situation of human

rights and illegal exploitation of the natural resources of the Territory by Morocco, as well as

the worsening humanitarian situation, which is driven, in part, by the decrease in funding to

support the refugees in the harsh conditions of the camps. He further called on the UN

Security Council to provide a human rights mandate in the renewal of MINRSO’s mandate.

Lastly, The AU Special Envoy expressed the AU’s appreciation to the Permanent

Representatives of Angola and Venezuela for convening the Arria-formula Meeting on

Western Sahara, aimed at promoting dialogue and transparency on the discussion of the

URU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 239: Henvendelse af 19. maj 2016 fra Polisario om Den Afrikanske Unions særlige udsendings briefing af FN's Sikkerhedsråd om Vestsahara

situation in Western Sahara in the search for a just and durable solution that will provide for

self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

Former President Chissano further expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the UN

Secretariat for facilitating his mission, as well as to the Staff of the AU Permanent Mission to

the UN for their assistance.