Sahara: Morocco calls on the United Nations to "do justice"

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

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 receded 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 in
(southwest Algeria) under the control of the Polisario Front.

aufaitmaroc.