Kenya, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency for the month of October, voted in favor of resolution 2602, extending MINURSO’s mandate in Western Sahara for another year. Nairobi did not join Moscow and Tunis opting out. A position that should hardly please Algeria, especially as it contradicts the forecasts of its special envoy for Western Sahara and the Maghreb.
Wednesday in statements to the APS, Amar Belani had justified the postponement of the adoption of a new resolution, by the wish of Russia and Kenya “to introduce substantial amendments to rebalance the text a little bit” , proposed by the United States.
The two countries, he added, “consider that this text is unbalanced and does not reflect the new reality, notably following the flagrant violation of the ceasefire by the Moroccan occupation forces in November 2020 , in the buffer zone of El Guerguerate ”. In the end, it didn’t. Washington has imposed its draft resolution on other members of the UN executive body.
The vote of Kenya, a country recognizing the “Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic”, in favor of resolution 2602 is the other surprise, after Tunisia’s abstention, of the October 29 meeting at the Security Council.
If it is premature to draw interpretations from this vote, it should be recalled that last March, Nairobi was the author, with the support of Algiers and Pretoria, of a resolution at the Peace Council and Union Security Council, condemning the Moroccan presence in the Sahara.
