Sahara Issue: UN Security Council Extends MINURSO Mandate for One Year

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The United Nations Security Council on Monday decided to extend the mandate of MINURSO for one year, while enshrining, once again, the preeminence of the Moroccan autonomy initiative to settle the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. The Security Council “decides to extend the mandate of MINURSO until October 31, 2024”, reads resolution 2703, sponsored by the United States. The resolution was adopted by 13 votes in favor and 2 abstentions. In this new resolution, the executive body of the United Nations reaffirmed its support for the Moroccan autonomy initiative, presented by Morocco in 2007, as a serious and credible basis with a view to putting an end to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, as enshrined in Security Council resolutions. The members of the Council also reiterated their support for the efforts of the UN Secretary General and his Personal Envoy for the Moroccan Sahara aimed at advancing the political process with a view to achieving a realistic, pragmatic and lasting solution, based on compromise.