New York, April 14, 2015 (SPS) - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has reaffirmed, in a new report, the importance of holding a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara on the basis of the negotiation process and under the aegis of the UN.
The report on the situation in Western Sahara was presented to the members of the UN Security Council on 10 April, in accordance with the resolution 2152 on the expansion of the mandate of the UN Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 April 2015.
Ban Ki-moon said that the present report, submitted before the end of the mandate period of MINURSO, “covers developments since my report dated 10 April 2014 and describes the situation on the ground, the status and progress of the negotiations on the future of Western Sahara, the implementation of the Council's resolution, and the existing challenges to the Mission's operations and steps taken to address them, as requested by the council in its resolution 2152 (2014).”
The UN secretary general also underlined in his report “a level of discontent” among the Saharawi population, illustrated in “intermittent demonstrations” in El Aaiun and other occupied towns on human rights concerns, economic issues and political demands, including the right to self-determination, with youth emphasizing the lack of employment opportunities.
“On several occasions, credible reports were received about the disproportionate use of force on the part of the (Moroccan) security forces” to disperse protesters, said the report. (SPS)
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