On the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, Algeria's Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf continued his consultations on the Sahara issue. In this context, he met yesterday in New York with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. In a statement, Algerian diplomacy said the meeting was an opportunity to «review the growing challenges faced by UN peacekeeping operations». The discussions, it added, highlighted «the importance of mobilizing efforts to preserve their structures and enhance their effectiveness so they can fulfill their missions and achieve the objectives for which they were designed, notably by supporting political processes to resolve crises and conflicts». For several weeks, Algeria has been particularly active on the sidelines of the General Assembly to counter any potential change in MINURSO's mandate. In this effort, Algiers has sought the views of Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, and Spain, the former colonial power of the region and a member of the UN «Group of Friends of Western Sahara». This status allows Madrid to take part, even without a Security Council seat, in the consultations leading up to the adoption of a new resolution on the Sahara. Meanwhile, MINURSO is preparing to close three observation points, including two located east of the Sand Wall.
