Boukadoum Comments On AU Peace And Security Council’s Resolution On Western Sahara

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sabri Boukadoum, described on Monday the recent decision of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council on the conflict in Western Sahara as “very important” and a gain that paves the way for establishing security and stability in North Africa.

Mr. Sabri Boukadoum said in a statement to the Algerian News Agency, that the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, after its recent meeting at the level of heads of state and government on the conflict in Western Sahara, took a “very important” decision.

Mr. Boukadoum added that the Council took the initiative to accompany the United Nations in the path of settling the conflict in Western Sahara, highlighting that the United Nations “is not the only body in charge of the issue of the conflict, but also the African Union, which today has taken back the issue that concerns before anything else two African states and two members of the African Union,” in reference to the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and the Kingdom of Morocco.

The head of the Algerian diplomacy reiterated that the decision is a “gain in the direction of establishing peace in North Africa”.

In response to a question about Morocco’s rejection of the African Council’s decision, Boukadoum affirmed in this regard that the last decision “is sovereign for all African member states, not for one country,” explaining that “the decision was adopted by consensus of all member states (…) and no reservation was recorded by any participating country”.

On March 18th, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union adopted a final resolution on the 984th meeting, which was held on the 9th of last March on the issue of Western Sahara, in which the SADR and the Kingdom of Morocco were called upon to engage in direct and frank negotiations without preconditions, In line with Article 4 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, and related provisions of the Peace and Security Council Protocol.

The African Peace and Security Council stressed the need to immediately cease hostilities and enter into dialogue, seeking to create an environment conducive to the conduct of negotiations between the SADR and the Kingdom of Morocco.

In its resolution, the council requested the African Union Commission to take the necessary steps to reopen the African Union office in El-Ayoune in the occupied Western Sahara “urgently”, explaining that this would enable the African Union to revive its role in the search for a political solution to the long-standing conflict.

It is noteworthy that the African Peace and Security Council recorded “with deep concern” the resumption of the military confrontation between the SADR and the Kingdom of Morocco, after the latter’s aggression against unarmed Saharawi civilians, in the illegal Guerguerat breach, on November 13, 2020, in blatant violation of the ceasefire agreements especially the military agreement.