MINURSO

Abstract

Following the cease-fire in September 1991 between Morocco and the Sahrawi national liberation movement, the POLISARIO Front, the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) was set up to organize a vote to decide the fate of the former Spanish colony. Given that both warring parties had agreed to the UN Settlement Plan, the Sahrawis were hopeful that they would partake in a referendum process to end the colonization of this non-self-governing territory. Yet, more than 30 years later, this last colony in Africa has remained under Moroccan occupation. Morocco has continued its illegal occupation refusing to allow the holding of the referendum. It has objected to any solution that would include independence as an option as is common in a decolonization process. Instead, Morocco has offered Sahrawis, since 2007, the so-called “autonomy plan” as the only option for negotiations with POLISARIO. This chapter analyzes the various stratagems that Morocco has used to circumvent any alternative to the option it wants to impose upon Sahrawis and the UN. It has opposed UN Secretary-Generals’ Special Envoys’ proposals for a definitive resolution of the conflict without ever incurring any retribution from the international community. One of the main arguments in this chapter is that Morocco’s allies in the UN Security Council are to blame for this protracted conflict and for preventing the UN from fulfilling its obligation.