تقرير بان كمون
New York –
United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has released his much-anticipated annual report entitled ‘the situation concerning Western Sahara.”
The report is being submitted to the members of the Security Council pursuant to resolution 2218 (2015) by which the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 April 2017.
The report, which was obtained by Morocco World News ahead of its public release scheduled on Wednesday, is very balanced and takes no hostile stance against Morocco.
Like in last year’s
report, Ban Ki-moon calls on the Security Council to renew MINURSO’s mandate for an additional period of one year until April 30, 2017.
Following Morocco’s decision to expel the civilian component of
MINURSO last March, the UN chief expresses its concern at the prospect of its departure from the Western Sahara, and urges the UN executive body to renew its mandate.
“The risk of a rupture of the ceasefire and a resumption of hostilities, with its attendant danger of escalation into full-scale war, will grow significantly in the event that MINURSO is forced to depart or finds itself unable to execute the mandate that the Security Council has set,” Ban Ki-moon says in paragraph 96 of the advanced copy of his report.
“In this context, and in light of the continuing efforts of my Personal Envoy, and the continuing importance of MINURSO, I recommend that the Security Council extend the mandate of MINURSO for a further 12 months, until 30 April 2017,” he adds.
The Secretary General seems to have chosen his words very carefully. In the second paragraph of his report, Ban Ki-moon says that he regrets the misunderstanding caused by his use of the term “occupation” when to describe Morocco’s presence in the Western Sahara. He emphasizes that his controversial statement was not meant to take sides for the Polisario or express hostility towards Morocco.
“I have repeatedly made it clear that nothing I had said or done had been meant to take sides, express hostility to the Kingdom of Morocco, or signal any change in the approach of the United Nations to the Western Sahara issue. The results of my trip and subsequent developments are further detailed in the sections on political activities and MINURSO below,” the UN chief said in paragraph 2 of his annual report.
Need to reach an agreement on nature and form of self-determination
Perhaps one of the most important highlights of this year’s report is its paragraph 91. The language used by the Secretary General might indicate that the UN is departing from its fixation on the concept of self-determination as necessarily leading to independence.
While the Secretary General repeats the same language he used in his previous report regarding the need that the parties engage in serious negotiations without pre-conditions and in good faith in order to reach “a mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara,” he stresses that this solution should be reached through an agreement on the “nature and form of self-determination.”
“The time has come to engage in serious negotiations without preconditions and in good faith to reach “a mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara,” Ban Ki-moon says.
“This political solution must include resolution of the dispute over the status of Western Sahara, including through agreement on the nature and form of the exercise of self-determination,” he adds.
Engaging Algeria and Mauritania in the political process
Additionally, and unlike previous reports, the UN chief calls on Algeria and Mauritania to make important contributions to this process.
“Algeria and Mauritania, as neighboring countries, can and should make important contributions to this process,” he says.
While in last year’s report, Ban Ki-moon emphasizes that “The members of the international community can, collectively and individually, play a critical role in this regard by encouraging the parties and the neighbouring States to remain engaged with my Personal Envoy,” in this year’s report, he clearly calls for the need to engage Algeria and Mauritania. Morocco has long called on the UN to consider Algeria a fully-fledged party in the political process, and Ban Ki-moon language might signal a new shift in the UN approach towards the issue.
on the other hand, Ban Ki-moon makes no mention of the necessity to establish a human rights monitoring mechanism in the Western Sahara and the Tindouf camps. He kept almost the same language he used in his last’s report, highlighting the need that Morocco and the Polisario enhance their cooperation with United Nations human rights mechanisms and OHCHR and allow unrestricted access to all relevant stakeholders.
“Given ongoing reports of human rights violations, it is necessary to sustain an independent and impartial understanding of the human rights situation in both Western Sahara and the camps, through regular cooperation with OHCHR and other human rights bodies with the objective of ensuring protection of all,” he says in paragraph 102 of his report.
The report has also taken into account Morocco’s calls on the UN to conduct a census of the Saharawis in the Tindouf camps in southern Algeria.
While stressing that need the international community continue to provide humanitarian support to the Saharawis in the camps, he calls for their registration.
“I also reiterate my call for continued consideration of registration in the refugee camps near Tindouf and invite efforts in this regard,” he said in paragraph 98 of his report.
However, Ban Ki-moon stopped short of mentioning the embezzlement of humanitarian aid destined to the Saharawis in the Tindouf camps. A
report published by the European Union’s Anti-Fraud Office in February 2015, documented the involvement of Algeria and the Polisario in this large-scale criminal activity