Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations

Statement by Mr. Vladimir Safronkov, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations at the Security Council meeting on protection of civilians in armed conflict

April 29, 2016


The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which was set up by the Security Council and includes Russian military observers, has played an extremely important stabilizing role. Its work has been effective and has allowed for the establishment of an environment that is conducive to advancement towards a political settlement of this long-standing issue, based on Security Council resolutions.

The relevant Security Council resolutions clearly set out that the form of the settlement must be acceptable to the parties, Morocco and the Polisario Front, and must provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara within the context of the procedures and the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. Monitoring the ceasefire is one of the key roles of the Mission; however, the political component is also of considerable importance. Since no one has changed the final goal, which was established through international decisions, the parties must realize that, without United Nations assistance, the difficult path towards a mutually acceptable settlement is unthinkable.

The situation concerning the Mission is, however, a cause for deep concern. We know that specific steps are being taken in order to diffuse the tension, but they have not yielded the hoped-for result. The actions that have been taken with regard to United Nations personnel may negatively impact the situation in the region, and what is very important for international peace and security, namely, United Nations peacekeeping efforts, has been made more difficult to implement. The confrontational approach must be replaced by a responsible one based on unconditional respect for Security Council decisions. The work of the Mission must be fully re-established. We need to bring all staff back to their responsibilities as soon as possible, so that they can fulfil unhindered the functions that have been assigned to them.

In our view, the text of resolution 2285 (2016), which extends the mandate of the Mission for the next 12 months suffers from substantive shortcomings. We were therefore unable to vote in favour of the resolution. The ninth preambular paragraph mentions serious and credible efforts to move the process forward towards a solution. Everyone who is aware of the current situation will say that that text has been outpaced by events and sends the wrong political message.

However, we would particularly stress the fact that we appreciate our good and historically friendly relationships with countries in the region, including, of course, Morocco, which are based on their multidimensional plans for development and respect and concern for each other’s interests. Concerning the artificially exacerbated situation with regard to MINURSO, we should not forget the key task, which is to get a dialogue going between the parties, and that is of fundamental importance to efforts to support security and stability in that part of the world. In that regard, a positive role could be played by the African Union.