Pretoria (South Africa) - Sahrawi
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Salem Ould Salek said Friday, in
Pretoria (South Africa), that the 25th Summit of the African Union (AU)
will be “major” and “historic” for the Sahrawi cause.“The Summit of the African Union’s Heads of State and Government will be major and historic, considering the importance of the reports on the Sahrawi cause which will be debated, including the African Commission’s report, which urges the United Nations to accelerate the organization of a referendum on Western Sahara,” said the Sahrawi Minister of Foreign Affairs in a meeting with APS.
It will also include, he said, the assessment of the resolution adopted, last March, by the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, adopted Thursday by the African ministers in the 27th ordinary session of the AU’s executive Council and that must be submitted to the Summit of the Heads of State and Government for examination on 14 and 15 June in Johannesburg.
Broaching the African Union’s role to find a solution to the Sahrawi cause, Ould Sadek recalled that the AU was the “second guarantor of the settlement plan approved by the Sahrawi and Moroccan parties in 1991, under the auspices of the Organization of the African Unity (OAU) and the United Nations,” underlining that the AU “strives to fulfill its role and claims the organization of a referendum.”
Furthermore, the Sahrawi minister criticized the role of the Security Council, which “technically manages the organization of the referendum,” adding that “it is in a position that prevents it from playing its role due to the presence of the forces and permanent member States who oppose the veto, particularly France, hampering all efforts and initiatives."
