Western Sahara: France Blocks Human Rights

Since the Security Council will review a new resolution tomorrow extending the mandate of MINURSO - the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara - Polisario Front strongly denounces the efforts made by France to block proposals to establish a mechanism for monitoring and protecting human rights in Western Sahara.

Photo: Western Sahara: France Blocks Human Rights

France has actively worked to protect Morocco from any international scrutiny of their serious and repeated human rights abuses in the occupied territory of Western Sahara. The First Vice President of Spain, Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, confirmed on Monday at the UN, that Spain supports human rights monitoring as part of the mandate of MINURSO.

France's rejection of human rights in Western Sahara is in direct contradiction to its condition of state, considered one of the founders of the modern movement for human rights. The position of France is also dismissive and contemptuous with a large number of members of the Security Council of the United Nations, who consider that the issues of human rights in Western Sahara needs to be addressed.

The human rights abuses by Morocco have intensified to the point where they have become the main obstacle in negotiations between the two parties, the Frente Polisario and the Kingdom of Morocco. The French actions are a vote against human rights and one vote against the resolution to the conflict that has lasted 35 years on the decolonization of Western Sahara.

MINURSO is the only United Nations Mission currently at present that does not consider human rights monitoring as part of its mandate. In a 2006 report, which is kept secret by France and Morocco, the High Commissioner of United Nations Human Rights recommended the establishment of international monitoring of human rights in Western Sahara.

Ahmed Boukhari, Polisario Front representative to the UN.

Translated from the Portuguese version by:

Lisa KARPOVA