Polisario threatens to quit UN peace process over US draft on Moroccan Sahara

The Polisario Front has threatened to withdraw from the UN-led peace process on the Moroccan Sahara if the UN Security Council adopts a US draft resolution on MINURSO without major changes.

In a letter sent Thursday evening to Security Council President Aglaia Balta, Sidi Mohamed Omar, the Polisario’s representative to the UN and coordinator with MINURSO, said the draft sets the terms and outcome of negotiations in advance and fails to guarantee the right to self-determination the front demands.

The Polisario accused Washington of backing its own position and Morocco’s and trying to change the terms under which MINURSO was established.

Adopting the draft as it stands would make the front’s continued participation in the political process impossible, the letter said.

Dated October 20, the US draft proposes ending MINURSO’s peacekeeping mandate on April 30, 2027, and replacing it with a special political mission for six months from May 1, under the name United Nations Mission for the Sahara (MINUSO).

It also calls for cutting the mission’s uniformed personnel by at least 50% by January 31, 2027.
The draft makes Morocco’s expanded and updated autonomy plan the sole basis for negotiations, stating that “genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution” to the dispute.

It urges the parties to take part in talks and respond on the basis of Morocco’s proposal.
It also backs efforts by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, his personal envoy Staffan de Mistura, and the United States to advance the political process.

The text refers to three rounds of direct talks involving Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria, and Mauritania in Washington and Madrid and welcomes updates to Morocco’s autonomy plan.

The draft asks de Mistura to consult a wide range of Sahrawi groups and other stakeholders, including those outside the current negotiations, in the territory, refugee camps, and the diaspora.

It also calls on the UN refugee agency to complete refugee registration in the Tindouf area within six months.
The draft urges all parties to respect the cessation of hostilities and avoid steps that could undermine the political process, warning that the Security Council could consider further measures if they fail to engage constructively in talks.

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