Comoros calls for UN help over island of Mayotte

President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi of the Comoros warned today that France’s refusal to recognize the island of Mayotte as part of the Indian Ocean archipelago nation brings the credibility of the United Nations into question.

Mayotte was the only one of the four Comoros islands to vote in a referendum in 1976 to maintain its links with France and Paris now regards it as a departmental collectivity.

Mr. Sambi cited various General Assembly resolutions on territorial integrity in his address to the 192-member body on the second day of its annual session, backing up Comoros’ position.

“It is up to the UN as guarantor of respect for international law to demand that its Member States’ legislations conform categorically to its pertinent resolutions,” he said.