Non-Renewal of Minurso’s Mandate ‘Positive Step’ Towards Ending Long-Standing Conflict – Vice-President of Portugal’s Assembly of the Republic

Lisbon – The non-renewal of Minurso’s mandate is a “positive step” towards ending a long-standing conflict, Vice-President of Portugal’s Assembly of the Republic Diogo Pacheco de Amorim said.

Noting the anachronistic nature of this mission, established in 1991, the Portuguese official told MAP that the international debate now focuses on the substance of the political solution and the adaptation of United Nations mechanisms, rather than on pursuing a process whose limitations have been demonstrated.

“The end of this mission, which has become obsolete, will have no impact on the ground,”” he noted.

De Amorim also stressed that the significance of the UN Security Council vote on October 30 lies primarily in the support expressed by eleven Council members for a text making the Moroccan autonomy initiative, under the Kingdom’s sovereignty, the sole basis for negotiations.

These developments, he noted, require the other parties to demonstrate greater diplomatic realism, considering that maintaining an “outdated approach” runs counter to the current direction of international discussions on the Moroccan Sahara.

He concluded that Security Council Resolution 2797 established the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the only realistic and lasting path towards achieving a definitive settlement of this regional conflict.