UN Security Council Likely To Take Sanctions Against Morocco

The United Nations Security Council will hold a much-awaited meeting behind closed doors on 26th of this month to discuss the overall assessment report submitted by the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the question of Western Sahara.

In fact, this report presents the status of implementation by Morocco of the UN resolution No. 2285 which provides for the return of civilian members of MINURSO in Western Sahara.

As a recall, Morocco expelled 74 civilian staff members belonging to the forces of MINURSO in Western Sahara as a reaction to statements in early March in the Tindouf camps by Ban Ki-Moon, who had dubbed the Moroccan authority in the Western Sahara as an “occupying power”.

And hence Resolution No. 2285 was adopted last April requiring the need for the Security Council to ensure the return of all the staff of MINURSO to Western Sahara to serve there without exception.

The Security Council had extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 3 April 2017, emphasizing the urgency “that it can again fully exercise its functions”.

Resolution No. 2285 (2016), which was adopted by 10 votes for, 2 against (Uruguay and Venezuela) and 3 abstentions (China, Russia and New Zealand), requests the Secretary General to inform the Council within 90 days if the MINURSO may again exercise its full mandate. 

In the event that the mission would not be able to fulfill its mandate, the Council “intends to examine how best to achieve this goal.”

Thus, the UN Security Council calls upon the parties at issue, namely Morocco and the Polisario Front, to resume negotiations under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General, “to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara”.

However, Morocco is reluctant to ensure the return of the entire delegation in full, by offering only the return of 25 of them in the first phase, which was rejected by the UN, which contradicts the essence of the resolution. 

With the end of inadmissibility, Morocco is obliged to yield to the UN Security Council’ injunction otherwise it will be sanctioned by the latter by the end of the month.