The United States is pressing for the United Nations to be allowed to investigate human rights abuses in disputed Western Sahara in a move fiercely opposed by Morocco, sources said Tuesday.
The move, to be decided by the 15-nation council this month, has set off a furious lobbying campaign by Morocco, which occupies much of the territory but whose claim to Western Sahara is not internationally recognized.
Human rights groups and a UN special investigator have accused Moroccan authorities of torturing Western Sahara activists.
The United States has submitted a draft UN Security Council resolution to other members of the so-called Friends of Western Sahara group — Britain, France, a key backer of Morocco, Spain and Russia calling for the rights initiative, diplomats said.
They will have talks before the text is submitted to the full council which has to renew the mission’s mandate this month. The UN mission in Western Sahara, officially known as MINURSO, is virtually the only UN operation in the world that does not have a human rights responsibility.
A source close to negotiations told AFP: “The draft resolution says that monitoring and reporting on human rights should be among the responsibilities of MINURSO’s international presence.
“It also says that UN agencies should conduct monitoring and reporting of rights in the Tindouf refugee camps run by the Polisario Front,” added the source, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
US diplomats declined to comment on the resolution and talks.
But a UN diplomat confirmed the call for rights monitoring and said “there will be intense talks on this proposal.” France will back Morocco in opposing the rights call while Britain will back the proposal, the diplomat added.
The Polisario Front wants a separate state in Western Sahara. It has repeatedly demanded that the United Nations back up resolutions calling for a self-determination referendum in the territory. Morocco is only prepared to offer greater autonomy.
Morocco started to annex Western Sahara in 1975 as Spanish colonizers withdrew. The Polisario took up arms demanding an independent state until the UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991.
UN attempts to reach a negotiated attempt between the two have become deadlocked and UN envoy Christopher Ross halted informal talks last year.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI ordered a government meeting on Western Sahara on Monday to discuss “certain initiatives which could deform the mandate of MINURSO,” said a royal statement quoted by the MAP national news agency.
Without mentioning the US draft resolution, the meeting “categorically rejected these initiatives,” added the report.
Rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have denounced abuses in Western Sahara. A UN special investigator said last year there had been many cases of torture of detainees.
“A human rights monitoring mandate for MINURSO is long overdue, and would benefit all residents of Western Sahara and the refugee camps in Algeria, near Tindouf,” said Philippe Bolopion, UN specialist for HRW.
“The United States will be up against determined Moroccan and French opposition but should not pass on a historic opportunity to bring MINURSO in line with other modern peacekeeping missions,” he added.
US wants UN rights mandate in disputed W. Sahara: sources
