Waiting for Antonio Guterres to submit his report on Western Sahara to the Security Council, the floor was given to Horst Köhler. During a closed session, the UN organ expressed its worries regarding the situation in the Guerguerate. As planned, Horst Köhler presented to members of the Security Council on Wednesday his observations regarding the Western Sahara conflict during a closed session that lasted for one hour and 20 minutes. By the end of the meeting, the Personal Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations for Western Sahara and representatives from the Security Council refused to answer questions asked by journalists, said EFE. «The members of the Security Council expressed their concern about the situation in Guergarat, and recalled the importance of maintaining the status quo, as mentioned in the report of the Secretary-General, as well as the need for the full implementation of resolution 2351», said president of the Council, Dutch ambassador to the UN, Karel van Oosterom. In his report circulated to the members of the Security Council in April 2017, Guterres had demanded the complete and immediate withdrawal of the Polisario from the Guergarat buffer zone. In this regard, he said that he «remains deeply concerned about the continued presence of armed elements of the Polisario Front in this region, and about the challenges this poses to the raison d'être of this buffer zone». Singling out the Polisario The council denounced the recent incursions of militia groups into the buffer zone in January. For the record, the Front's militia blocked for more than an hour and a half the way of a rally heading to Mauritania. An act that violates resolution 2351 unanimously adopted on the 29th of April by members of the Security Council. In his report, published the 10th of April 2017, the UN Secretary-General had acknowledged that this situation could «lead to the collapse of the ceasefire» and create a «dangerous impact» on the security and stability of the entire region. The Council, said van Oosterom, expressed his «full support» for the efforts of the Personal Envoy, and «welcomed its recent bilateral meetings with the parties and neighboring countries to relaunch the negotiation process with a new dynamic and a new spirit leading to the resumption of a political process under the auspices of the Secretary-General.» The Dutch diplomat concluded that members of the Security Council «have stressed the importance of maintaining a constructive commitment in order to advance the political process.» For his part, French ambassador to the UN, François Delattre told reporters that the Council held «very good consultations» on the Sahara issue. In his turn, Kohler said he had «a very encouraging meeting with the members of the Council.»
