Mechanism for solution to conflict between Sahrawi Republic and Morocco: "historic decision" (Ould Salek)

Nouakchott, July 2, 2018 (SPS) - Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Salek on Sunday described in Nouakchott "historic decision" the creation of a mechanism to find a solution to the conflict between the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and Morocco.

"This historic decision reaffirms the commitment of the African Union to the rights of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence," Ould Salek said in a statement to the press.

The head of Saharawi diplomacy intervened at the end of the presentation of a report of the chairman of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, on Western Sahara on the occasion of the 31st Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.

The summit decided to create a mechanism at the level of heads of state to "work to find a solution between the Saharawi Republic and Morocco," he said.

This mechanism will work in consultation with the UN to put an end to this conflict that has lasted too long between the Saharawi Republic and Morocco, he added.

For him, this decision is based on "the decisions and the known positions of the AU which recognize the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence".

Mr. Ould Salek welcomed this position taken by the AU, "which falls in the search for the solution between the Saharawi Republic and Morocco".

The last colony in Africa, Western Sahara was occupied by Morocco in 1975 after the departure of Spanish troops, and remains to date registered on the agenda of the United Nations among the territories to be decolonized, according to the rules of the international law in this regard. (SPS)

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