Christopher Ross, U.S.’s Signal to the Sahara

Only few hours after the official announcement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of the appointment of Christopher Ross as his “Personal Envoy to the Sahara”, the U.S. government reacted quickly, which is significant, by calling upon parties in the conflict to proceed with negotiations in Manhasset.

It is at last an American personality who succeeds Peter van Walsum to renew talks process between Morocco and Polisario – in addition to Algeria and Mauritania – suspended since last March.

The appointment of the veteran diplomat is finally confirmed. Aged 65, a great expert of the Arab world, he was appointed in Fez as director of the American Center, then in Damascus and Algiers as ambassador. Famous for his great strictness, he has been so far in charge of a critical mission at the U.S. State Department: Counterterrorism Coordination.

Ban Ki-moon’s spokeswoman said that “Mr. Christopher Ross will work with parties (in conflict) and neighboring countries on the basis of the most recent 1813 Security Council Resolution and in previous Resolutions based on the progress made so far towards finding a political, just and sustainable solution”.

A deep semantic reading of such statements leaves no doubt about the UN willingness to outline the framework of the new diplomat in charge of the Sahara issue. In fact, it assigned him the mission of political negotiation – on the basis of relevant Resolutions 1754, 1783 and 1813 – passed in April 2007, April and September 2008.

Most importantly, the statements leave no room for ambiguity: there is no more turning back and the only way to implement a “just and lasting” solution is to comply with the three resolutions, UN spokeswoman said.

We can not neglect the fact that these UN statements were, a few hours later, corroborated by the statement of the spokesman of the U.S. Deputy State Department, Robert Wood.

Welcoming the appointment of Christopher Ross, he said that “the United States has urged parties to continue negotiating without prior preconditions and in good faith, with a spirit of realism and compromise in order to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution”.

The deputy spokesman at the State Department does not stop, however, at this level of analysis. Through an indirect but supported tribute to Peter van Walsum, he hopes that Christopher Ross “will continue the excellent work of the former envoy to the Sahara, whose intellectual leadership, professionalism and dedication were exemplary.”

By choosing an American personality to replace Peter van Walsum, whose term expired last August, and by outlining his mission, Mr. Ban Ki-moon intends to renew without any alteration, his quest for a way out based on the negotiation.

But beyond this election, the new envoy also embodies the clear commitment by the United States to engage further and directly in the negotiations process over the Sahara. It is ultimately a further demonstration of its willingness to endorse the success of a process – which has gone through four rounds – expected only to go on but also, if we stick to the Security Council recommendations, to speed it up significantly.

The appointment of Christopher Ross as Ban’s Personal Envoy to the Sahara is also in line with the statements made last fall by Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State, during her tour in North Africa. “There will be a new round of negotiations,” she said in Algiers, we will support it, there are good ideas on the table and there are ways to move forward. We do not need to start from scratch. ”

The Algerian government which witnessed such a solemn declaration believed it was leaning in the same direction. Its foreign minister, Mourad Médelci, with his ultimate lucidity, announced last September, at the UN last General Assembly that “[I]n this context, Algeria believes absolutely important that the momentum generated by Manhasset process will be preserved and encouraged.” He continued: “Algeria reiterates the responsibility that both parties, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front, assume in this regard and urges them to continue the negotiation process and demonstrate political will essential to its success.”

Shall we leave more space for doubt! We take the words of the head of Algerian diplomacy that he complies with international legality, Security Council Resolutions, intellectual and political requirement that there is no other way for a final solution except political settlement; which means negotiations on the basis of what exists and that the Security Council then the General Assembly, in the sake of efficiency, have in turn approved.

Negotiation momentum was not possible until 2007, after thirty-two years of ruinous barriers, following the Autonomy proposal that the Kingdom of Morocco, under the instructions of His Majesty Mohammed VI, submitted to the United Nations. The proposal, which has won the support of the global community, confirms the Kingdom’s commitment to transcend the obstacles of all kinds and implement a just, lasting and democratic solution. The UN, United States, European Union, Arab world, Asia and Africa have understood the proposal and back it with unshakable support.