New York, April 24, 2014 (SPS) - The Security Council of the United Nations has adjourned to next Tuesday the vote on a U.S. draft resolution on Western Sahara regarding the renewal of the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), said Reuters on Thursday.
Stressing on the importance of improving the human rights situation in Western Sahara, this resolution encourages the two parties to the conflict; the Frente Polisario and Morocco, to work with the international community to develop and implement independent and credible measures to ensure full respect for human rights in Western Sahara.
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and rights advocacy groups have long called for the U.N. mission in Western Sahara to monitor and report on human rights abuses, but Morocco, backed by France, rejects the idea.
The Polisario Front’s Representative to the UN Mr. Ahmed Boukhari accused, in an interview with Reuters, Morocco and France of pressuring the United Nations to revise the report.
Ahmed Boukhari indicated, in other interview with Radio Algeria International, that the content of the UN Secretary-General’s report was welcomed by the majority of the Security Council members.
He also described as “bashful” Rabat’s approach, circulated by France within the UN Security Council.
There are eight countries within the Security Council, he added, courageously plead for the content of the UN Chief’s report, especially those relating to human rights monitoring and natural resources of Western Sahara, exploited by Morocco.
Last week, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has renewed, in a report submitted to the Security Council, his appeals for “sustained human rights monitoring” in Western Sahara and warned against unfair exploitation of the region’s natural resources. (SPS)
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