New York- Less than a week before the adoption of a new resolution on the renewal of the mandate of the MINURSO for one more year, the United States circulated to the members of the Security Council the draft resolution that will be put up for vote next Tuesday.
The draft resolution, which was obtained by Morocco World News, is almost 100 per cent identical to the resolution 2152, which was adopted by the UNSC last year. There, it breathes no new dynamic on the negotiation process.
Surprisingly, although the report of the UN Secretary General highlighted the need to conduct a registration of the population in the Tindouf camps, the draft resolution made no mention of Algeria and steers away from calling on it to allow the UNHCR to conduct a census in the camps.
Instead of calling firmly on the Algerian government to respect its international obligations with regards to the protection of refugees, the draft resolution simply reiterates its request “for consideration of a refugee registration on the Tindouf refugee camps and inviting efforts in this regard,” using exactly the same language as last year.
The draft, which was drafted by the United States- the pen-holder of the resolution- and circulated to the Group of Friends of Western Sahara (France, Russia, Spain, UK and US) few days ago then to the members of the Security Council on Wednesday, also “recognizes and welcomes the recent steps and initiatives taken by Morocco to strengthen the National Council on Human Rights Commissions operating in Dakhla and Laayoune and Morocco’s ongoing interaction with Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council including those planned for 2015, as well as the planned visit of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in 2015”.
On the other hand, it calls on both sides, Morocco and the Polisario, to respect human rights and stresses “the importance of improving the human rights situation in Western Sahara and the Tindouf camps, and encouraging the parties to work with the international community to develop and implement independent and credible measures to ensure full respect for human rights.”
In addition to renewing MINURSO’s mandate for another year, it also stresses that the consolidation of the status quo “is not acceptable, and notes that “progress in the negotiations is essential in order to improve the quality of life of the people of Western Sahara in all its aspects.”
As in resolution 2099 adopted in April 2013 and resolution 2152 adopted in April 2014, this year’s resolution renews its call on the parties to the conflict, Morocco and the Polisario Front “to conduct negotiations, without preconditions and in good faith, taking into account the efforts made since 2006 and subsequent developments, with a view to achieving a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution.”
It remains to be seen how the approach adopted by the United Nations for the past 8 years will help the two parties iron their differences and bridge the gap between the, thus paving the way towards the achievement of a long-lasting, political and mutually acceptable solution to the conflict.
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