Algeria Regrets Horst Kohler’s Sudden Resignation

Algeria deeply regrets the resignation of the UN Envoy for Western Sahara, Horst Kohler, who suddenly announced his resignation and attributed it to health reasons.

“Algeria has received with great regret the news of the resignation of UN envoy Horst Kohler from his duties as the Personal Envoy of the UN General Secretay to Western Sahara,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Following the decision of the UN official, Algeria can not but acknowledge its unwavering intention for Mr. Kohler for the commitment and determination he has shown to re-establish the long-stalled course of settlement of the conflict in Western Sahara”, FM added.

“Algeria, as a neighboring country, has been supporting the efforts of the Personal Envoy of the UN General Secretary for the duration of the course led by Mr. Kohler to bring the parties to the conflict, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front, to the negotiations in good faith and without preconditions on a fair, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution leading to the realization of the right to self-determination in Western Sahara “.

The same document states that “Algeria remains convinced that this is the solution to the question of Western Sahara, which enables the Saharawi people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with international legality and the principles and practices of the United Nations in the field of decolonization.”

The Polisario Front, following the resignation of the United Nations envoy, renewed its full commitment to the United Nations-led political process and to the realization of the inalienable right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and indepenence.

In a statement to the United Nations, the Polisario Front expressed its deep regret at the resignation of Kohler, who since his assumption of the Western Sahara file has been striving for a just and lasting solution that guarantees the right of self-determination for the Sahrawi people.

The Polisario warned of any attempt to use the departure of the Personal Envoy as an excuse to delay or hinder progress since the first UN-led roundtable on Western Sahara in December 2018, calling on the UN General Secretary to move quickly to appoint a new personal envoy who shares Kohler the same strong conviction,firmness and determination, asserting that a fair and lasting solution based on the referendum on the self-determination of the Sahrawi people remains possible, given the continued political will and determination of the United Nations Security Council to realize such an amazing goal