Latest update : 2016-03-25
The U.N. Security Council announced its support for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the disputed Western Sahara late Thursday.
The Security Council called for the controversy
between Morocco and the U.N. Secretary-General to be addressed so the
mission can resume full operation.
Morocco expelled 73 international civilian staff members with the
peacekeeping mission and closed a military liaison office to protest
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s use of the word “occupation” in
describing the status of the vast mineral-rich territory during a recent
visit to camps in Algeria for Western Sahara refugees.
Eleven other civilians ordered out had already left the mission, known as MINURSO.
Morocco annexed Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, in 1975 and
fought a local independence movement called the Polisario Front until
the U.N. brokered a ceasefire in 1991.
The Security Council authorised the U.N. mission to monitor the
cease-fire and help organise a referendum on the future of the vast
mineral-rich region, but that has never taken place because of disputes
over voter lists.
The Security Council initially tried to resolve the latest crisis
through individual contacts between its 15 members and Morocco, but that
didn’t seem to work.
Morocco’s Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar said Thursday the
decision to expel the civilian staff is “irreversible.” And the
Polisario Front’s U.N. representative, Ahmed Boukhari, warned again
Thursday that “the shortest way towards a war is the dismantling of
MINURSO.”
The Security Council, which had been discussing the crisis behind
closed doors all week, met again Thursday for over three hours and
agreed on “press elements” — its lowest level of response.
The council expressed “serious concern” at the recent developments
and noted the U.N. Secretariat’s assessment of the impact of the
departures on the peacekeeping mission.
A U.N. official warned Wednesday that MINURSO will have to shut down unless Morocco reverses its unprecedented expulsion order.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the issue, said the secretary-general wanted the Security
Council to take action to protect MINURSO. But the press elements
agreed by the council late Thursday do not authorise any action.
Instead, the council stressed the importance of addressing the
circumstances that led to the current situation “in a constructive,
comprehensive and cooperative manner ... so that MINURSO may resume its
full capacity to carry out its mandate,” which is outlined in several
U.N. resolutions.
Angola’s U.N. Ambassador Ismael Gaspar Martins, the current council
president, told reporters: “The message is that we have discussed in a
constructive manner, that we are concerned, that it is a problem that
has to be resolved, and I hope it will be.”
The bottom line is that the Security Council needs to “take account
of our primary responsibility which is keeping peace and security in the
world,” he said.
Pressed on how the controversy was going to be addressed, Gaspar
Martins noted that council members have bilateral relations with
Morocco.
Morocco considers Western Sahara as its “southern provinces” and has
proposed wide-ranging autonomy for the region, but the Polisario Front
insists on self-determination through a referendum for the local
population — as called for in U.N. resolutions.
The Polisario Front’s Boukhari said he was “somewhat happy” with the
council for expressing serious concern and trying to make sure that
MINURSO can function at its full capacity, which is “our common
objective.”
But the Security Council should have taken “stronger steps” toward
restoring MINURSO and sent a stronger message to Morocco, which is
mainly responsible for the continuing crisis, he said.
(AP)
No comments:
Post a Comment