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IV Committee: Mozambique expresses “grave” concern over lack of progress in decolonization of Western Sahara

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New York (UN), Oct 9, 2017 (SPS) - Mr. Carlos Costa, Minister Plenipotentiary at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Mozambique to the United Nations, has said that the lack of progress in the decolonization of Western Sahara continues to be a cause for grave concern to Mozambique, in his statement to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) of the 72nd Session of the General Assembly.
"The lack of progress in the decolonization of Western Sahara, the sole African country still to exercise the right to self-determination continues to be a cause for grave concern to Mozambique. Regrettably, all the efforts deployed by the United Nations, the African Union and other actors to bring about an accepted settlement aiming to grant the people of Western Sahara their inalienable right to self-determination and independence has not yielded results," he said.
“Granting the inalienable rights of self-determination to the people of the territory of Western Sahara remains the noble objective of the International Community, and in particular, the United Nations and the African Union. In this regard, the principle of self-determination and right of freedom should also be a reality for the sister people of Western Sahara.”
“We would like to seize this opportunity to call upon the Security Council, the General Assembly and the international community to exercise their responsibility by implementing their own resolutions, as well as to support the African Union and its Special Envoy to Western Sahara, Mr. Joaquim Chissano, former President of Mozambique.”
“We would like to express our full support to the joint UN-AU Framework for enhancing Peace and Security, signed this year, and the recent appointment of Mr. Horst Koehler as Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Western Sahara, representing additional efforts which will contribute to put forward concrete actions for a durable and sustainable solution for the question of the Western Sahara,” concluded Mr. Carlos Costa, Minister Plenipotentiary at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Mozambique to the United Nations in his statement to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) of the 72nd Session of the General Assembly. (SPS)
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