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STORY: UN / WESTERN SAHARA
TRT: 05:04
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: FRENCH / ENGLISH / RUSSIAN / NATS
DATELINE: 31 OCTOBER 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, United Nations headquarters
31 OCTOBER 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. UPSOUND (French) Pascale Baeriswyl, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations:
“I shall now put the draft resolution to the vote. Those in favor of the draft resolution in document S/2024/796, please raise your hand. Against? Abstentions? The result of the vote is as follows…I'm just waiting for the sum to be done… Twelve votes in favor, zero votes against, two abstentions. One member did not participate in the vote. The draft resolution is adopted as resolution 27/56/2024.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Robert A. Wood, Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs in the United Nations, United States:
“Council has made clear its robust support for the Personal Envoy as he intensifies efforts to advance an enduring and dignified resolution for Western Sahara without further delay. Negotiations leading to a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution are urgently needed. It was in this sense of urgency that we carefully crafted our first revision, we sought common ground in the spirit of enabling a long overdue political solution.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Pedro Comissário, Ambassador, Representative to the United Nations, Mozambique:
“The resolution in its current form, without the Algerian amendments, will not assist the parties in achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, nor will it assist the special envoy in his work. On the contrary, it entrenches the trend of a gradual departure from the original mandate, as stated in the very name of MINURSO.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Russian Federation:
“As regards the resolution, in our opinion, it does not reflect a real situation on the ground and is hardly going to help facilitate achieving a mutually acceptable solution to the conflict. Russia, together with other delegations, made a series of proposals and proposed additions to the texts that were ignored at the same time the Russians proposals did not aim to amend it in any way significantly. We believe that it was appropriate to reflect things that were obvious to everyone, the absence of progress in the settlement, and also an appeal to the parties in the conflict and all interested parties and players to avoid actions that could cause an escalation of tensions in the Region.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (French) Amar Bendjama, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Algeria:
“You have certainly noticed that Algeria decided fully responsibly not to participate in the vote on this resolution for a range of reasons, which I will now touch upon. First of all, because of the attitude of the pen holder. Over the last week, our views, which I unscrupulously noted down and documented and well-founded with agreed language within the Security Council, were not born in mind, let us say so candidly, they were deliberately ignored.”
12. Wide shot, end of Security Council
The Security Council adopted draft resolution today (31 Oct) renewing the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) for another year, until 31 October 2025. The Russian Federation and Mozambique abstained. Algeria did not participate in the vote.
Algeria proposed two amendments to the text. The Council will first voted on the Algerian amendments before proceeding to vote on the whole draft resolution, which was authored by the US (the penholder on Western Sahara). Amendments were not adopted.
U.S. representative Robert A. Wood said, “Council has made clear its robust support for the Personal Envoy as he intensifies efforts to advance an enduring and dignified resolution for Western Sahara without further delay. Negotiations leading to a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution are urgently needed.”
Mozambique’s representative, Pedro Comissário said, “The resolution in its current form, without the Algerian amendments, will not assist the parties in achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, nor will it assist the special envoy in his work.”
Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya voiced his country’s reservations, “As regards the resolution, in our opinion, it does not reflect a real situation on the ground and is hardly going to help facilitate achieving a mutually acceptable solution to the conflict.” Nebenzya underscored Russia’s belief that recent proposals to emphasize the stalled peace progress and caution against escalating regional tensions were ignored.
Explaining Algeria’s decision not to vote, Ambassador Amar Bendjama said, “Over the last week, our views, which I unscrupulously noted down and documented and well-founded with agreed language within the Security Council, were not born in mind.” According to Bendjama the Algerian amendments were “deliberately ignored.”
