United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Security Council Resolution A United Nations Security Council resolution is a United Nations resolution adopted by the fifteen members of the Security Council (UNSC); the United Nations (UN) body charged with "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peac ...

1720, adopted unanimously on October 31, 2006, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation 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 ...

, including resolutions 1495 (2003), 1541 (2004) and

1675 Events January–March * January 5 – Franco-Dutch War – Battle of Turckheim: The French defeat Austria and Brandenburg. * January 29 – John Sassamon, an English-educated Native Americans in the United States, Nati ...

(2006), the Council extended the mandate of the

United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara 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 ...

(MINURSO) for six months until April 30, 2007. Of the fifteen members of the Security Council, 14 approved a draft resolution that included a provision expressing concern about Moroccan

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 ...

abuses in the

occupied territory Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...

; only

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

objected, and thus the paragraph was omitted from the final text. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

had suggested wrapping up the mission during discussions prior to the adoption of Resolution 1720.

Resolution

Observations

The Security Council reaffirmed the need for a durable and mutual solution to the Western Sahara problem, which would provide for the

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 ...

of the people of the territory. Both

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 ...

, 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� ...

and regional states were urged to co-operate with the United Nations to end the political impasse and reach a solution to the long-running dispute.

Acts

All parties were called upon to respect military agreements reached with MINURSO regarding a

ceasefire 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 ...

. Member States were called upon to consider contributing towards confidence-building measures to facilitate greater person-to-person contact, such as family visits. The mandate of MINURSO was extended and the Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...

instructed to report on the situation in Western Sahara. Furthermore, he was also instructed to ensure greater compliance with the zero-tolerance

sexual exploitation Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor, reducing a person to a s ...

policy among MINURSO personnel.

References

External links

*
Text of the Resolution at undocs.org
{{UNSCR 2006 1720 1720 1720 2006 in Western Sahara 2006 in Morocco October 2006 events

Resolution

Observations

Acts

See also

References

External links