London, April 27, 2013 (SPS) - Amnesty International stressed Friday that UN Security Council’s latest resolution on Western Sahara “acknowledges the need for improving human rights” in the occupied territories, dubbing “missed opportunity” the council’s “failure to add human rights monitoring to the mandate” of MINURSO (UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara).
The Security Council has missed a unique opportunity allowing Western Sahara people’s to enjoy its basic rights through an international instrument to subject persistent human rights concerns there to sorely needed international scrutiny,” said Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Director, Philip Luther.
“Despite today’s failure, the adopted resolution acknowledges the need for improving human rights in Western Sahara.”
The United Nations “encourages the parties to work with the international community to develop and implement independent and credible measures to ensure full respect for human rights in western Sahara,” Luther stressed. (SPS)
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