UN Renews Peacekeeping Mission in Western Sahara

After a rather heated UN Security Council debate, a majority of the 15-member council voted to extend the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO) for one year under the terms of the UN-brokered 1991 ceasefire agreement between Morocco and the Western Saharan-based Polisario Front independence movement. However, the resolution did not include provisions to monitor human rights — sought by some on the council — prompting a Polisario spokesman to condemn the action as grossly inadequate and a “scandal for the credibility of the United Nations and the Security Council.”

In the context of ongoing negotiations over the occupied territory, Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi praised the UN for producing a resolution that is consistent with Morocco’s approach and affirms the vision of graduated autonomy, not full independence.

Prior to MINURSO’s extension, human rights advocates had implored UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to push for the establishment of a “UN mechanism that would monitor and report on human rights.” Polisario did the same during a meeting with top UN officials last month, after which Ban expressed his desire to find a solution “that provides for the self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.”