57th session of the CDH: Some forty countries reaffirm their support for Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara

Hibapress

Some forty countries reaffirmed, on Tuesday, their support for Morocco’s full sovereignty over its Sahara, during the 57th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), which is being held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

This group of countries expressed its support for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom in a statement delivered on its behalf by the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic, Hector Virgilio Alcántara, during the general debate on the annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the world. In this regard, the group highlighted Morocco’s “constructive, voluntary and deep” interaction with the UN human rights system. “Morocco has been engaged for many years in a constructive, voluntary and deep interaction with the United Nations human rights system, in particular the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), for the promotion and respect of human rights throughout its territory,” said Mr. Virgilio Alcántara in this statement under Item 2 of the session’s agenda.

In its resolutions on the Sahara dispute, he recalled, the UN Security Council welcomes the role played by the National and Regional Human Rights Commissions in Dakhla and Laayoune and the interaction between Morocco and the mechanisms under the special procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

In its statement, the group also welcomed the opening by many countries of Consulates General in the cities of Dakhla and Laayoune, which constitute “a lever for strengthening economic cooperation and investments, for the benefit of local populations, regional and also continental development”. “The Sahara issue is a political dispute dealt with by the Security Council, which recognizes the preeminence of the autonomy initiative presented by Morocco as credible and serious for a definitive political solution to the regional dispute over the Sahara,” he further recalled.

In this regard, the group affirms its support for efforts aimed at reviving the exclusively UN political process based on the format established during the two Geneva round tables, in accordance with the resolutions of the Security Council, in particular the latest resolution 2703 of October 30, 2023, aimed at achieving a political, realistic, pragmatic, lasting solution based on compromise to this regional dispute. “The resolution of this regional dispute will contribute to realizing the legitimate aspirations of the African and Arab peoples in terms of integration and development, an objective that Morocco continues to aim for and for which it is making sincere and continuous efforts,” concluded the Dominican ambassador.