C-24: Papua New Guinea Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan in Sahara

Papua New Guinea has reaffirmed, before the members of the UN Committee of 24 (C-24) in Bali, its support for the autonomy initiative in the Moroccan Sahara which constitutes the solid basis for a lasting solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. Speaking at the C-24 Pacific Regional Seminar in Indonesia’s Bali (May 24-26), Papua New Guinea’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Fred Sarufa, stressed that the plan presented by Morocco in 2007 was in line with key provisions of the UN Charter and Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. The diplomat further expressed encouragement for the growing international support for the autonomy plan, stressing that more than 100 UN member states support this “credible” and “committed” initiative. He also reiterated his country’s support for the UN-led political process under the aegis of the UN Secretary General and his Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, aimed at finding a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution to this artificial conflict. The Papuan diplomate welcomed the efforts of the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy to facilitate the UN political process and urged Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and the Polisario to resume the roundtable discussions in the same format, in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2654. He also welcomed the participation of the democratically re-elected representatives of the people of the southern provinces in the two roundtables in Geneva, in the C-24 regional seminar for the fifth consecutive session and in the annual sessions of the same Committee.