Papua New Guinea highlighted, before the Fourth Committee (4C) of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the growing international support for the Autonomy Plan presented by Morocco to reach a definitive solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.
Papua New Guinea’s Deputy Permanent Representative and Ambassador, Fred Sarufa, praised “the growing international support for this credible compromise proposal, which is encouraging and will help all stakeholders involved in this dispute to find a lasting and peaceful solution”.
The Papuan official also stated that his country “praises and supports” the “impressive” efforts undertaken by Morocco for the sustainable development of the southern provinces, which is improving the lives of the region’s populations.
Papua New Guinea’s ambassador also expressed his country’s support for the ongoing political process under the aegis of the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG), with the facilitation of his Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, which aims to achieve a “mutually acceptable, negotiated, and lasting political solution involving all parties”.
Calling for this “impetus” to be maintained, the speaker stressed that his country encourages and supports efforts to resume the “important” roundtable process and capitalize on its previous “successful” sessions held in Geneva.
The UN official concluded that “this [resumption] should be based on practical realities and a spirit of good faith and negotiated compromise, as articulated in Morocco’s meritorious Autonomy Plan” and further inspired by the UN Charter and the 18 relevant Security Council (SC) resolutions adopted since 2007.