![Posten der Frente Polisario 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Posten_der_Frente_Polisario_2.jpg)
The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara ( ar, بعثة الأمم المتحدة لتنظيم استفتاء في الصحراء الغربية; french: Mission des Nations Unies pour l'Organisation d'un Référendum au Sahara Occidental; es, Misión de las Naciones Unidas para la Organización de un Referéndum en el Sáhara Occidental; MINURSO) is the
United Nations peacekeeping
Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations as an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is distinguished ...
mission in
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
, established in 1991 under
United Nations Security Council Resolution 690
United Nations Security Council resolution 690, adopted unanimously on 29 April 1991, after recalling resolutions 621 (1988) and 658 (1990) and noting a report by the Secretary-General on the situation in Western Sahara, the Council approved the ...
as part of the
Settlement Plan
The Settlement Plan was an agreement between the ethnically Saharawi Polisario Front and Morocco on the organization of a referendum, which would constitute an expression of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, leading either to ...
, which had paved way for a
cease-fire
A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
in the conflict between
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
and the
Polisario Front
The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro), (in ar, rtl=yes, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الس ...
(representing the
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (; SADR; also romanized with Saharawi; ar, الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية ' es, República Árabe Saharaui Democrática), also known as Western Sahara, is a ...
) over the contested territory of Western Sahara (formerly
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
).
MINURSO's mission was to monitor the cease-fire and to organize and conduct a
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
in accordance with the Settlement Plan, which would enable the
Sahrawi people
The Sahrawi, or Saharawi people ( ar, صحراويون '; es, Saharaui), are an ethnic group and nation native to the western part of the Sahara desert, which includes the Western Sahara, southern Morocco, much of Mauritania, and along the s ...
of
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
to choose between integration with
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
and
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
. This was intended to constitute a Sahrawi exercise of
self-determination
The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
, and thus complete Western Sahara's still-unfinished process of
decolonization
Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...
(Western Sahara is the last major territory remaining on the UN's
list of non-decolonized territories.)
Mandate
According to the United Nations, MINURSO was "originally mandated in accordance with the settlement plan to:
*monitor the ceasefire;
*verify the reduction of Moroccan troops in the Territory;
*monitor the confinement of Moroccan and Frente Polisario troops to designated locations;
*take steps with the parties to ensure the release of all Western Saharan political prisoners or detainees;
*oversee the exchange of prisoners of war, to be implemented by
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
, (ICRC);
*repatriate the refugees of Western Sahara, a task to be carried out by the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
(UNHCR);
*identify and register qualified voters;
*organise and ensure a free and fair referendum and proclaim the results;
*reduce the threat of unexploded ordnances and mines."
Plans
The independence referendum was originally scheduled for 1992, but conflicts over voter eligibility prevented it from being held. Both sides blamed each other for stalling the process. In 1997, the
Houston Agreement The Houston Agreement was the result of negotiations between the Polisario Front and Morocco on the organization of a referendum, which would constitute an expression of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, possibly leading to full i ...
was supposed to restart the process, but again failed. In 2003, the
Baker Plan
The Baker Plan (formally, Peace Plan for Self-Determination of the People of Western Sahara) is a United Nations initiative to grant self-determination to Western Sahara. It was intended to replace the Settlement Plan of 1991, which was further ...
was launched to replace the Settlement Plan, but while accepted by the Polisario and unanimously endorsed by the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
, it was rejected by Morocco. Morocco insisted that all inhabitants of the territory should be eligible to vote in the referendum. Following the 1975
Green March
The Green March was a strategic mass demonstration in November 1975, coordinated by the Moroccan government, to force Spain to hand over the disputed, autonomous semi-metropolitan province of Spanish Sahara to Morocco. At that time, the Span ...
, the Moroccan state has sponsored
settlement schemes
Settlement may refer to:
*Human settlement, a community where people live
*Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building
*Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction
*Settlement (fina ...
enticing thousands of Moroccans to move into
the Moroccan-occupied part of Western Sahara (80% of the territory). By 2015, it was estimated that Moroccan settlers made up at least two thirds of the
500,000 inhabitants.
Presently, there is no plan for holding the referendum, and the viability of the cease-fire is coming into question.
Extensions
The MINURSO mandate has been extended 47 times since 1991. In October 2006 the Security Council passed a resolution extending the mandate of MINURSO to April 2007.
A provision decrying
human rights abuses by Morocco in Western Sahara had the backing of 14 members of the Security Council, but was deleted due to French objections.
In April 2007 the resolution extending the mandate to October took "note of the Moroccan proposal presented on 11 April 2007 to the Secretary-General and welcoming serious and credible Moroccan efforts to move the process forward towards resolution" and also took "note of the Polisario Front proposal presented on 10 April 2007 to the Secretary-General".
The representative of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
took exception to the way that one proposal was held more worthy than the other as well as the lack of participation outside the
Group of Friends
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...
in the drafting of the resolution.
The October 2007 resolution extending the mandate to April 2008 contained the same preferential wording in its description of the two proposals.
The representative of South Africa commented on this again, and regretted the fact that the resolution "considered" rather than "welcomed" the report on the situation by the Secretary-General—"presumably because
tdared to raise the issue of the human rights violations against the Saharawi people", and quoted the warning in the report
about there being no mandate to address the issue of human rights.
The April 2008 resolution extended the mandate for a full year to April 2009.
Before the vote, the representative of Costa Rica expressed his "concern at the manner in which the draft resolution on which we are about to vote was negotiated" and a "difficulty in understanding the absolute refusal to include" references to human rights. MINURSO's budget is roughly 60 million dollars per year.
Bases
There are two sets of teams, those in the
Moroccan-controlled portion west of the berm and those in the
Sahrawi-controlled region and
refugee camps
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peop ...
to the east and in
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
. The camps west of the
berm
A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier (usually made of compacted soil) separating areas in a vertical way, especially partway up a long slope. It can serve as a terrace road, track, path, a fortification line, a border/ separation ...
are located in
Mahbes,
Smara
Smara ( ar, السمارة ''as-Samāra'', also romanized ''Semara''; es, Esmara) is a city in the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara, with a population of 57,035 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is served by Smara Airport and Sm ...
,
Umm Dreiga and
Auserd. The eastern camps include
Bir Lehlou
Bir Lehlou (also transliterated ''Bir Lahlou'', ''Bir Lehlu'' Arabic: بئر الحلو) is an oasis town in north-eastern Western Sahara, 236 km from Smara, near the Mauritanian border and east of the border wall, in Polisario Front-held terr ...
,
Tifariti
Tifariti (Berber: Tifariti, ar, تيفاريتي) is an oasis town located in north-eastern Western Sahara, east of the Moroccan Berm, from Smara and north of the border with Mauritania. It is part of what Polisario Front calls the '' Liberated ...
,
Mehaires,
Mijek
Mijek (also transliterated "Mijik", "Miyek" or "Miyec"; ar, ميجك, links=no) is a small town in the Río de Oro region of Western Sahara. It is located east of the Moroccan Wall, in the Liberated Territories (controlled by the Polisario Fro ...
, and
Agwanit. There is also a liaison office in
Tindouf
Tindouf (Berber: Tinduf, ar, تندوف) is the main town, and a commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian, Western Saharan and Moroccan borders. The commune has population of around 160,000 but the census and population ...
which serves as a communication channel with POLISARIO leadership.
Current composition
, MINURSO had a total of 220 uniformed personnel, including 19 contingent troops, 193 experts on mission, 7 staff officers, and 1 police officer, supported by 227 civilian personnel, and 16 UN volunteers. Major troop contributors are
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. Armed contingents patrol the
no man's land
No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...
that borders the
Moroccan Wall
The Moroccan Western Sahara Wall or Berm is an approximately sand wall or berm running south to north through Western Sahara and the southwestern portion of Morocco. It separates the Moroccan-controlled areas (the Southern Provinces) on the w ...
, to safeguard the cease-fire.
*
Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Chief of Mission: Alexander Ivanko ()
*Force Commander:
Major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Wang Xiaojun ()
*Chief of Mission Support: Veneranda Mukandoli-Jefferson ()
*Chief of Staff: Vacant
*Head of Liaison Office, Tindouf: Yusef Jedian ()
![MINURSO HQ, El Aaiun, WS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/MINURSO_HQ%2C_El_Aaiun%2C_WS.jpg)
Other personnel:
There have been a total of 16 fatalities in MINURSO: six military personnel, a police officer, a military observer, three international civilian personnel, and five local civilian personnel.
Criticism
MINURSO is the only UN peacekeeping mission established since 1978 to be operating without the capacity to monitor human rights. Although Resolution 1979 of the UN Security Council recommends the establishment of one, this has not yet happened. In 1995, MINURSO's inability or unwillingness to act against perceived Moroccan manipulation of the process, and abuse of Sahrawi civilians, caused its former deputy chairman
Frank Ruddy to deliver a strong attack on the organization;
he has since kept up his critique of what he argues is an economically costly and politically corrupt process.
Growing criticism has been voiced against the UN Security Council for not establishing a program of
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
(as MINURSO is the only UN mission in the world who has no mandate on them) monitoring for Western Sahara and the Sahrawi population,
[
] despite serious reports of numerous abuses. This possibility has been denied by France with its
veto power
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto pow ...
on the
Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
. In April 2016,
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
and
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
expressed their dissatisfaction with this state of affairs by taking the rare step of voting against a Security Council Resolution reauthorizing MINURSO,
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2285, from which
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and two other powers abstained.
Over a two-year period, mostly 2006–2007, MINURSO personnel vandalized archaeological sites by spraying
graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
over prehistoric rock paintings and engravings in the
Free Zone (POLISARIO-controlled parts of Western Sahara). There are also accusations of looting of prehistorical paintings by individuals from the UN on some of those sites.
In May 2010, the Polisario Front suspended contacts with the MINURSO, because of the failure on implementing the self-determination referendum, and accused the force of "''...turning into a protector shield of a colonial fact, the occupation of the Western Sahara by Morocco''".
See also
*
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara
*
Foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The foreign relations of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) are conducted by the Polisario Front, which maintains a network of representation offices and embassies in foreign countries.
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is the g ...
*
History of Western Sahara
The history of Western Sahara can be traced back to the times of Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator in the 5th century BC. Though few historical records are left from that period, Western Sahara's modern history has its roots linked to some ...
*
Politics of Western Sahara
The politics of Western Sahara take place in a framework of an area claimed by both the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and Morocco.
Occupied by Spain from 1884 to 1975, as Spanish Sahara, the territory has been listed with ...
*
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1720
*
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2285
References
Further reading
*''Western Sahara: Anatomy of a Stalemate'' by
Erik Jensen, former director of MINURSO (1995–1998) ()
*''Peacemonger'' by
Marrack Goulding
Sir Marrack Goulding KCMG (2 September 19369 July 2010) was a British diplomat who served more than eleven years as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Early life
Born in Plymouth in Devon, England, to Sir Irvine Goulding, a Hig ...
, former director of UN peace-keeping missions ()
External links
*
UN homepageSC-resolution 1541 with background info
A collection of UN documents regarding MINURSODamage to rock art sites attributed to MINURSO in Western Sahara between 1995 and 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:United Nations Mission For The Referendum In Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
Politics of Western Sahara
Political organizations based in Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
History of Western Sahara
690
__NOTOC__
Year 690 (Roman numerals, DCXC) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 690 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domi ...
Western Sahara peace process
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
Sahrawi nationalism
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
Western Sahara and the United Nations