Morocco has strongly protested against maintaining the Sahara issue on the decolonization agenda of the Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly on grounds that it violates the UN charter and the mandate of the Security Council. In this respect, the Moroccan diplomat deplored the confusion surrounding the Sahara issue at the UN which continues to be examined by both the Security Council and the Fourth Committee. Maintaining the Sahara conflict on the agenda of the fourth committee goes in total contradiction with the Security Council approach which examines the issue as part of Article VI relating to the peaceful resolution of conflicts, recalled Hilale, noting that the Security Council has never considered the Sahara dispute as a decolonization issue. The Moroccan diplomat explained that the terminology used in the Security Council resolution has never labelled the conflict as a decolonization issue and has never called the Sahara as an occupied territory. The Security Council uses accurate terms calling the Sahara issue a “regional conflict,” he said.

Source: The North Africa Journal October 12, 2016 15:11 UTC