Morocco Rebuked for Undermining UN in Western Sahara

By Julie Mandoyan | April 18, 2012 - 15:00 GMT 

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, on Monday (16 April) criticized alleged attempts by Morocco to spy on confidential communications between the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and UN headquarters in New York. The accusations were voiced against the backdrop of UN Security Council discussions on the territorial dispute between Morocco and the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Republic.

In a report to the council, Ban called for a larger and reinforced mission to be deployed in Western Sahara, as “factors [had] undermined the mission's ability to monitor and report consistently on the situation”. Addressing the intelligence activities of Moroccan-authorities specifically, he noted “indications” that the “confidentiality of the communications between MINURSO headquarters and New York ha[d], at least on one occasion, been compromised”. Ban also expressed frustration that “MINURSO [was] unable to exercise fully its peacekeeping monitoring, observation and reporting functions, or to avail of the authority to reverse the erosion of its mandate implementation capabilities on its own”.

Morocco has also been accused of undermining UN neutrality on the ground, with the report referencing two examples in particular. Firstly, a Moroccan police presence around the MINURSO compound prevented “visitors from approaching MINURSO in an independent capacity”. Secondly, unlike in all other countries hosting missions, Morocco compelled UN cars to display Moroccan diplomatic plates. For the UN, this represented a further visible sign of failed cooperation, as UN cars had to change plates when crossing borders into disputed territory, while the plates “raise[d] doubts about the neutrality of the mission”.

Western Sahara gained independence from Spain in 1975 and has been claimed by Morocco ever since. The Polisario Front started a guerrilla war that lasted until 1991 when the UN brokered a ceasefire, intending to organize a self-determinative referendum. Negotiations over the territory's future are presently at an impasse.

(With AFP)
(Photo © UN)