UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council has renewed the mandate of MINURSO, the UN peacekeeping force in Western Sahara, for another year.
The resolution passed with 12 votes in favor, while Algeria, a supporter of the pro-independence Polisario Front, abstained in protest, primarily over the resolution’s lack of provisions for human rights monitoring in the region.
The longstanding conflict over Western Sahara began when Morocco annexed the area, a former Spanish colony, in 1975. The Polisario Front, with backing from Algeria, has campaigned for the region’s independence, and a UN-brokered 1991 ceasefire established MINURSO to monitor the truce and facilitate a referendum on Western Sahara’s future.
However, disagreements over voter eligibility have delayed the referendum, with Morocco only willing to offer autonomy rather than full independence. Tensions reignited in 2020 when the Polisario resumed hostilities.
Algeria’s UN Ambassador, Amar Bendjama, criticized the lack of focus on human rights in the resolution, proposed by the US, and expressed frustration over amendments he proposed being excluded. Meanwhile, US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood reiterated American support for Morocco’s autonomy proposal as “serious, credible, and realistic,” underscoring the urgency of a political solution for lasting peace in Western Sahara.
