Morocco and the UN Western Sahara stand off continues.

The Moroccan government on Wednesday urged the UN to "do justice" on the Sahara issue that is opposed by the Polisario Front since 1975, the independence movement backed by Algeria.

"The Sahara issue is in the hands of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to bring justice in Morocco and straighten the  negotiation process," he told reporters the communication minister and spokesman government, Mr. Mustapha El Khalfi.

The call comes just weeks after Morocco withdrew its confidence in Christopher Ross, the personal envoy of UN Secretary General for Western Sahara. Mr. Ross "does not meet the conditions required him to ensure the success of negotiations on  the Sahara," the minister said at a news conference in Rabat after a government
meeting.

"The decision of Morocco to withdraw its confidence was dictated by the duty to defend and preserve its national sovereignty over its territories," he added. In May, the Minister for Foreign Affairs had told AFP that Mr. Ross "was removed from the  mandate entrusted by the Secretary General of the UN in its capacity as facilitator and that is to help parties to reach a  political solution ".

Rabat accused the envoy of having deviated from his mandate by proposing the extension of the prerogatives of the UN mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO) especially as regards human rights as well as his refusal to respond positively to the Morocco's request for a census of the Sahrawi refugees in Tindouf established (southwest Algeria) under the control of the Polisario Front.

The Chairman of U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, pointed to the "lack of progress" in the United Nations negotiations over the Sahara, and expressed "concern" over this stalemate MAP reported.

There were fears that Morocco risked not only a breakdown in its relations with the UN Security Council but also the incomprehension of the United States. MINURSO has complained of restictions on its operations in Western Sahara .France has always supported Morocco's rejection of the demand for MINURSO to have a human rights monitoring role in the Western Sahara.

Morocco has hilighted the human rights taking place in the Tindouf camps where young Sahrawis demonstrated against the restrictions imposed on them in the desolate camps of Tindouf .There is also concern about their vulnerability to Al Qaeda in the unstable situation in the Sahel.

The Moroccan postion appears to be that requires human rights monitoring in Tindouf before it is  imposed in Laayoune. Morocco has always rejected an imposed solution by outside parties.

Meanwhile the stand off between the UN and Morocco over its repudiation of Christopher Ross continues in this intractable dispute.