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

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

1979, adopted unanimously on April 27, 2011, after reaffirming all previous resolutions on the

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 ...

including 1754 (2007),

1783 Events January–March * January 20 – At Versailles, Great Britain signs preliminary peace treaties with the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of Spain. * January 23 – The Confederation Congress ratifies two October 8, ...

(2007),

1813 Events January–March * January 18–January 23 – War of 1812: The Battle of Frenchtown is fought in modern-day Monroe, Michigan between the United States and a British and Native American alliance. * January 24 – T ...

(2008), 1871 (2009) and 1920 (2010), the Council discussed prospects for a settlement of the dispute and 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) until April 30, 2012. The resolution did not include a monitoring mechanism for human rights in the mandate of MINURSO, amid disagreements among diplomats. The Security Council was criticised by some nations including

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

of hypocrisy–where MINURSO would be the only United Nations peacekeeping mission without a human rights mandate. However, it did mention human rights for the first time. 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 t ...

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� ...

welcomed the resolution; Morocco praised it for recognizing Morocco's offer of autonomy to Western Sahara, while the Polisario Front noted the increased use of human rights language in the text.

Resolution

Observations

The Security Council reaffirmed its commitment in assisting

and the

for a lasting, mutually acceptable solution which provides for self-determination for the people of Western Sahara. In this regard, full co-operation was required from the concerned parties and neighbouring states in the region with the United Nations. It noted proposals submitted to the

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

Ban Ki-moon by both parties and invited them to demonstrate their political will to resolve the conflict. At the same time, several rounds of negotiations were also recognised, and stressed the need for both sides to adhere to their obligations, particularly as there was an increase in violations of previous agreements. The preamble of the resolution also stressed the importance of improving the

human rights Human rights are moral principles or 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 certain standards of hu ...

situation in Western Sahara and the

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 ...

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 ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. It welcomed the establishment of a human rights council in Morocco and the implementation of a refugee protection programme 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) in co-ordination with the Polisario Front. The resolution anticipated family visits by land and by air, with full co-operation from the UNHCR. Meanwhile, the Council determined that the status quo was unacceptable, and welcomed the commitment of both sides to continue negotiations for the benefit of the people in the territory.

Acts

Both parties were urged to adhere to the 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 ...

. The parties were called upon to continue to show political will and continue unconditional negotiations under the auspices of the Secretary-General, and the commitment of Morocco and the Polisario Front to hold talks in preparation for a fifth round of negotiations was welcomed by the Council. Assistance was from other countries was invited in this regard, including funding for confidence-building measures such as family visits. Finally, the Secretary-General was requested to keep the Council regularly informed on progress made during the negotiations and reflect on difficulties facing MINURSO. He was also required to make sure both parties complied with MINURSO with regards to the United Nations sexual exploitation and abuse policy and for troop-contributing countries to ensure full accountability.

References

External links

*
Text of the Resolution at undocs.org
{{UNSCR 2011 1979 1979 2011 in Morocco 1979 April 2011 events

Resolution

Observations

Acts

See also

References

External links