MOROCCAN REBUTTAL OF ALGERIAN DRAFT 4TH COMMITTEE

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 001586 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/08/2017 TAGS: PREL UN AG MO SUBJECT: MOROCCAN REBUTTAL OF ALGERIAN DRAFT 4TH COMMITTEE SAHARA RESOLUTION REF: RABAT 1575 Classified By: Ambassador Thomas T. Riley. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) MFA Secretary General Omar Hilale convoked Ambassador and counterparts from the Americas again on October 9, to discuss UNGA Fourth Committee consideration of the Western Sahara issue. Hilale called this follow-up to his briefing of October 5 (ref. A),to explain the Moroccan response to the recent submission by Algeria of its draft resolution, and to present a draft paper that discussed the Algerian draft in detail,. As the GOM had anticipated, the Algerian draft looked backwards towards previous, failed plans. It does not look forward, only insufficiently and selectively noting UNSCR 1754 and essentially ignoring the two rounds of negotiations that had already been held. ¶2. (C) Hilale complained of the absence of any reference to the Moroccan initiative to propose an autonomy plan for the Sahara. In line with this exclusion, the draft even fails to mention the POLISARIO proposals tabled in May, however worthless. Instead there is significant "classical" reference to "obsolete" (fr. caduc) prior initiatives, the Settlement plan and the Baker plan. Their objective is to weaken UNSCR 1754, he charged, as well as taking away momentum from negotiation efforts already started. ¶3. (C) Hilale said Morocco preferred a consensus resolution what would meet its concerns. He wanted to keep focus on the Security Council and implementation of its resolution 1754. It wanted an UNGA resolution that focused on support for the continuation of the negotiating process. Citing Article 12 of the UN Charter, Morocco believed that the Fourth Committee should be taking a back seat to the UNSC on this issue. He underscored Moroccan willingness to work toward a consensus draft. Full text of Moroccan paper, "Analysis of the Algerian Draft Resolution" faxed to desk. ***************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ***************************************** Riley