Morocco Leaks : Rabat rejects MINURSO contact with local population of Western Sahara

Tags : Maroc Leaks, Meeting of the Minister with the Ambassadors of the United States, Spain, and the Chargé d’Affaires a.i of the French Embassy in Rabat, Western Sahara, UN, MINURSO,

Minister’s Meeting with US, Spanish Ambassadors, and French Chargé d’Affaires in Rabat

Kingdom of Morocco
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Cooperation
The Cabinet الديوان 

April 7, 2012

To His Excellency the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Morocco
New York

Subject: National Issue / Meetings of the Minister with the Ambassadors of the United States, Spain, and the Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of France in Rabat.

This morning, the Minister received Mr. Samuel Kaplan, Ambassador of the United States, Mr. Alberto Navarro Gonzales, Ambassador of Spain, and Mr. Ludovic Pouille, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of France, and informed them of the following:

Morocco rejects OP3 of the draft Resolution referring to political contacts between MINURSO and the local population and civil society groups;

Morocco underscores the confusion between ‘extensive visit to Western Sahara’ and the term ‘to extend visit to Western Sahara’ (Extended visit to the territory of Western Sahara in accordance with the language of the communiqué of the ninth informal meeting);

The importance for Morocco of having a paragraph in the operative part of the resolution on the census of the populations in the Tindouf camps, in accordance with the appeals of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Responding to the Minister’s remarks:

The Ambassador of the United States emphasized the following:

The United States supports a simple resolution for a technical renewal (roll over) of MINURSO;

He stressed that adding new elements could draw the Group of Friends and other members of the Security Council into counterproductive discussions;

The United States, which favors a simple resolution, will support Morocco and understands its concern about expanding MINURSO’s mandate to political contacts;

The Ambassador of Spain, for his part, emphasized that:

Spain is aware of Morocco’s efforts in the field of Human Rights (opening of the Regional Delegations of the CNDH in the Sahara, visit of the Special Procedure of the HRC);

He agrees with Morocco on the confusion in the language of OP3 (extensive visit to W.S / extend visit to W.S);

Morocco can count on the support of Spain during the meeting of the Group of Friends scheduled for next Tuesday.

The Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of France, for his part, reacted as follows:

France is convinced that MINURSO must maintain its initial mandate and that any reference to the 1996 resolution in OP3 is obsolete since this mission is entrusted to the SG’s Personal Envoy;

He appreciated the clarification regarding the difference in language used in OP3 with that of the last Communiqué of the informal meeting in Manhasset (extensive visit to W.S / extend visit to W.S);

France supports Morocco’s amendment aimed at having a paragraph on the census of the populations in the Tindouf camps in the operative part, even if the other members of the Group of Friends oppose this amendment.

Source :

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