UN Secrity Council meets on Morocco's move in Western Sahara mission dispute

The UN Security Council on Thursday held emergency consultations on Morocco's "unprecedented" threat to withdraw support for the UN Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) over a wording dispute with UN chief Ban Ki-moon, but the council came up with no immediate solution.

Following a closed-door council session, Ambassador Ismael Gaspar Martins of Angola, this month's council president, told reporters here that members "expressed serious concerns" and indicated their governments would approach Rabat on an individual basis, "bilaterally."

However, when a reporter said such actions indicated there was no consensus among council members on a unified approach, the council president denied, saying members agreed there was concern.

Ban said earlier this month during a visit to Western Sahara that the territory was occupied by Morocco. This upset Rabat and citizens staged a massive protest demonstration in the capital city on Sunday. Rabat considers the territory part of its southern provinces.

Rabat informed the UN Secretariat earlier this week it was withdrawing support for the mission, said Ban's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.

On Thursday, he said support was essential, especially in its desert environment, noting that among a list of 84 people working for the mission, were names including those among the political echelon, drivers and air conditioning technicians.

Morocco also said it was withdrawing peacekeepers from UN missions in Africa. There were published reports it later withdrew that threat.

"We are very anxious to hear from the Security Council (members) and to hear their support for a mission ... they have created," Dujarric said.

"This decision obviously has an impact on the secretariat's ability to implement the mandate as given to it by the Security Council. This is a unilateral action which I think is in clear contradiction to Morocco's international obligation, under the status of mission agreement."

"It is also a challenge to the Security Council," the spokesman said. "The mandate of MINURSO was given to it by the Security Council. The Security Council is the one that creates peacekeeping missions. What we are seeing is unprecedented."

Morocco annexed Western Sahara after colonial power Spain relinquished it in 1975, touching off fighting by the Polisario Front which sought independence. The Security Council mandated MINURSO in 1991. The referendum was never held. Enditem