ADDRESSING UN, ALGERIA VOICES HOPE FOR SOLUTION ON WESTERN SAHARA ISSUE

ADDRESSING UN, ALGERIA VOICES HOPE FOR SOLUTION ON WESTERN SAHARA ISSUE
New York, Oct 1 2007 7:00PM
The Foreign Minister of Algeria today told the United Nations General Assembly that his country hopes for an agreement between Morocco and the Polisario Front that would pave the way for the people of Western Sahara to decide on their future.

Addressing the Assembly's annual high-level debate, Mourad Medelci said Western Sahara is the "last case of decolonization in Africa where the people are still deprived of their right to self-determination enshrined in relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council."

He said the international community had nourished hopes for a just and lasting solution, notably through the Security Council's support in 2003 for the peace plan put forward by James Baker, the former Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General.

Algeria welcomed recent developments on the issue, including the adoption of Security Council resolution 1754, which underlined the need to achieve a just and comprehensive solution, Mr. Medelci said, voicing hope that negotiations could lead to an agreement that would allow the people of Western Sahara to pronounce themselves, freely and without constraints, through a self-determination referendum.
2007-10-01 00:00:00.000

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