Western Sahara Conflict about to escalate

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) urges the member states of the UN Security Council to support UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in the dispute with Morocco over the status of Western Sahara. “The only way to prevent an escalation of the Western Sahara Conflict is for the Security Council to unite behind the UN Secretary General” said Ulrich Delius, the STP’s Africa-expert, in Göttingen on Thursday. “It must be made clear that the international community will not allow Morocco to obstruct the MINURSO-mission any longer.”

On March 21, 2016 – offended by remarks of Ban Ki-moon – Morocco had abandoned the mission and declared 84 international civilian staff members of the MINURSO mission in the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara to be “persona non grata”. MINURSO was established by the UN Security Council in 1991, in order to organize a referendum on the future of Western Sahara. So far, the mission had involved 242 soldiers, 84 civilian employees and 157 local staff.

The dispute between Morocco and the UN Secretary General arose when, at a press conference in Algiers on March 6, Ban Ki-moon stated Western Sahara to be “occupied” by the Kingdom of Morocco. Upon further questions, Ban Ki-moon’s spokesman stressed that the international legal status of the territory was still unsettled. This also corresponds to the official position of the German government and the European Union, although France – one of Morocco’s close allies – is trying to back Morocco by undermining this position. Morocco considers Western Sahara as part of its territory.

The relationship of trust between the United Nations and the Kingdom of Morocco started to crumble when several Moroccan Ministers took part in mass protests of several hundred thousand people against Ban Ki-moon on March 13. “After 25 years of bickering about MINURSO, the Moroccan rulers have now abandoned all restraint. De facto, the UN mission will not be able to continue its work,” criticized Delius.

“Thanks to a new strategic partnership with the veto power Russia – agreed on in March 2016 – Morocco apparently feels fit to risk an open dispute with the UN Secretary General,” said Delius. “Now, the Security Council must make it clear that it is not up to Morocco to terminate UN peacekeeping missions and hamper with obligations of international law.” 

Header Photo:  Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken via Flickr