Copenhagen, August 21, 2015 (SPS) - Former head of MINURSO troops, Major General Kurt Mosgaard, stressed the need to give the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara a mandate to monitor human rights in the territory, adding that there is currently no impartial bodies on the ground to handle with the task.
In an article on Tuesday published first in Afrika Kontakt website and then got replicated in some Danish media about the 40 years of Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara, Major General Mosgaard said the MINURSO “should be given a mandate to monitor human rights in Western Sahara, both in the Moroccan-occupied territories and in refugee camps in Algeria.”
In doing so, Mosgaard underlined the people would get the impression that the international community actually cares, and the increasing risk of a new war will be diminished.
“Such an approach would also have the effect that shake up the otherwise deadlock, as the UN Secretary General's special envoy, American Christopher Ross, will be able to get more success in its efforts to achieve a political solution that will be acceptable to both parties,” stated Kurt Mosgaard.
The Danish military official went on saying that there several international organizations report on infringements but rarely based on personal observations but just credible reports.
Highlighting that currently there are no impartial bodies can handle with the issue of human rights in Western Sahara, the former chief of MINURSO troops indicated that journalists and interested organizations, such as the EU parliament, still cannot have access to the territory.
Mr. Mosgaard served as chief of MINURSO troops in the period from 2005 until 2007. (SPS)
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