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Western Sahara: UN Plan and Critique
Western Sahara: UN Plan and Critique
Date distributed (ymd): 010629
Document reposted by APIC
Africa Policy Electronic Distribution List: an information
service provided by AFRICA ACTION (incorporating the Africa
Policy Information Center, The Africa Fund, and the American
Committee on Africa). Find more information for action for
Africa at http://www.africapolicy.org
+++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
Region: North Africa
Issue Areas: +political/rights+ +security/peace+
SUMMARY CONTENTS:
This posting contains several documents concerning the last
unresolved colonial conflict in Africa, namely the occupation of
Western Sahara by Morocco. In the latest report on UN action to
implement the settlement plan including a referendum the
implementation of which has been blocked for four years, James
Baker III, the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western
Sahara, recommends abandoning the agreed plan for a referendum in
favor of new talks aimed at limited autonomy, a proposal reportedly
based on Moroccan recommendations. The shift has been
vehemently opposed by the Polisario Front and Algeria.
Documents included here include (1) brief excerpts the
Secretary-General's report to the Security Council, including the
main points of the new framework presented in an annex, (2) a
summary article from the UN Integrated Regional Information Network
(IRIN - http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN), (3) a critical analysis
from Foreign Policy in Focus
(http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org).
For additional background and updates see http://www.arso.org
(in English, Spanish and French) and http://wsahara.net, as well as
current news on http://allafrica.com/westernsahara.
+++++++++++++++++end profile++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Excerpts from report of the Secretary-General S/ 2001/ 613,
20 June 2001, particularly Annex I Framework agreement on the
Status of Western Sahara. Full report available at:
http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/reports/2001/613e.pdf
52. Given the history of the United Nations operation in Western
Sahara over the past 10 years, including the last four years during
which my Personal Envoy has been involved in the search for
acceptable ways to implement the settlement plan, and the failure
of the parties to come up with any concrete proposals during the
three rounds of consultations held from June to September 2000, my
Personal Envoy has concluded that there are serious doubts as to
whether the settlement plan can be implemented in its present form
in a way that will result in an early, durable and agreed
resolution of the dispute over Western Sahara. I fully concur with
this view.
60. Twenty- six long years have elapsed since the outbreak of this
conflict. It took five years to negotiate the United Nations
settlement proposals and plan and 10 more years to try to implement
that plan. In the meantime, an entire new generation of Saharan
refugees was born and grew up in the Tindouf camps, while many
among the first generation have already died without being able to
return home. The proposed framework agreement offers what may be
the last window of opportunity for years to come. This opportunity
ought to be seized by all parties concerned as it is in the
interests of the people of Western Sahara as well as those of the
countries in the region. It is high time to settle the dispute over
Western Sahara, so that the Maghreb region may finally focus on
cooperation and development and enable all its people to look to a
better future.
Annex I
The authority in Western Sahara shall be as follows:
- The population of Western Sahara, through their executive,
legislative and judicial bodies shall have exclusive competence
over local governmental administration, territorial budget and
taxation, law enforcement, internal security, social welfare,
culture, education, commerce, transportation, agriculture, mining,
fisheries and industry, environmental policy, housing and urban
development, water and electricity, roads and other basic
infrastructure.
- The Kingdom of Morocco will have exclusive competence over
foreign relations (including international agreements and
conventions) national security and external defence (including
determination of borders, maritime, aerial or terrestrial and their
protection by all appropriate means) all matters relating to the
production, sale, ownership or use of weapons or explosives and the
preservation of the territorial integrity against secessionist
attempts whether from within or without the territory. In addition,
the flag, currency, customs, postal and telecommunication systems
of the Kingdom shall be the same for Western Sahara. With respect
to all functions described in this paragraph (2) the Kingdom may
appoint representatives to serve it in Western Sahara.
- In Western Sahara the executive authority shall be vested in an
Executive, who shall be elected by a vote of those individuals who
have been identified as qualified to vote by the Identification
Commission of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in
Western Sahara, and whose names are on the United Nations
provisional voter lists (completed as of 30 December 1999) without
giving effect to any appeals or other objections. To qualify as a
candidate for Executive, one must be an individual who has been
identified as qualified to vote as aforesaid and whose name is on
said provisional voter lists. The Executive shall be elected for a
term of four years. Thereafter, the Executive shall be elected by
majority vote of the Assembly. The Executive shall appoint
administrators in charge of executive departments for terms of four
years. The legislative authority shall be vested in an Assembly,
the members of which shall be directly elected by voters for terms
of four years. The judicial authority shall be vested in such
courts as may be necessary, the judges of which shall be selected
from the National Institute for Judicial Studies but shall be from
Western Sahara. Such courts shall be the authority on territorial
law. To be qualified to vote for members of the Assembly, a person
must be 18 years or older and either (i) a continuous resident of
the territory since 31 October 1998, or (ii) a person listed on the
repatriation list as of 31 October 2000.
- All laws passed by the Assembly and all decisions of the courts
referred to in paragraph 3 above must respect and comply with the
constitution of the Kingdom of Morocco, particularly with respect
to the protection of public liberties. All elections or referenda
referred to in this agreement shall be conducted with all
appropriate guarantees and in keeping with the Code of Conduct
agreed to by the parties in 1997, except where to do so would be
inconsistent with the terms hereof.
- Neither the Kingdom nor the executive, legislative, or judicial
bodies of the Authority of Western Sahara referred to above may
unilaterally change or abolish the status of Western Sahara. Any
changes or modifications of this agreement has to be approved by
the Executive and the Assembly of Western Sahara. The status of
Western Sahara will be submitted to a referendum of qualified
voters on such date as the parties hereto shall agree, within the
five year period following the initial actions to implement this
agreement. To be qualified to vote in such a referendum a voter
must have been a full time resident of Western Sahara for the
preceding one year.
UN Defends New Proposal
UN Integrated Regional Information Network June 28, 2001
A new UN proposal on Western Sahara has been described by its
proponents as an attempt to facilitate negotiations and end the
conflict.
"We are not asking in this proposal that anyone give up anything,"
James Baker III, the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western
Sahara, told reporters after briefing the Security Council on
Tuesday. "We are asking that the parties are willing to come to the
table and talk."
Morocco annexed Western Sahara after the former colonial power,
Spain, pulled out of the territory in 1975. The POLISARIO front
subsequently took up arms to seek independence for the territory,
which it calls the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and
which is recognised by the Organisation of African Unity.
Under UN mediation, both sides had agreed to a referendum that
would allow the Sahrawi to choose between independence and Moroccan
rule, but differences over who is eligible to vote have stalled the
process for years.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Friday that the plan would
allow the people of Western Sahara the right to elect their own
executive and legislative bodies and to have exclusive competence
over local government and a range of economic, legal and social
affairs. It provides for a referendum on the final status of the
territory within five years.
News organisations have reported that under the new autonomy plan
rejected by POLISARIO and accepted by Morocco, defence, foreign
affairs and the currency would remain under Moroccan control.
Abidjan, 27 June 2001; 18:30 GMT
UN Betrayal of Western Sahara Appears Imminent
By Stephen Zunes
Foreign Policy in Focus
http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/commentary/0106wsahara.html
June, 2001
When a country violates fundamental principles of international law
and when the UN Security Council demands that it cease its illegal
behavior, one might expect that the world body would impose
sanctions or other measures to foster compliance. This has been the
case with Iraq, Libya, and other international outlaws in recent
years.
One would not expect for the United Nations to respond to such
violations by passing a series of new and weaker resolutions that
essentially allow for the transgressions to stand.
However, this is exactly what appears to be taking place in the
case of Morocco and its 25-year occupation of Sahrawi Arab
Democratic Republic (SADR), better known as Western Sahara. Soon
after the International Court of Justice ruled against Morocco's
claims to the territory and the right of the Sahrawis for
self-determination, Morocco invaded Western Sahara in November
1975. At that time the UN passed UN Security Council Resolution 380
calling for Morocco to withdraw immediately from the territory. The
U.S. and France not only blocked the UN from imposing sanctions and
otherwise enforcing its resolution, but they also sent military
advisers and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of arms in
subsequent years to support Morocco's conquest. As a result, the
majority of the country's population was forced into exile in
neighboring Algeria.
By 1991 the UN had dropped its insistence insisting that Moroccan
forces withdraw unilaterally. Instead it called for a UN-sponsored
plebiscite involving the Saharis themselves on the fate of the
territory. UN Security Council Resolution 690 outlined the process
for registering voters and proceeding with the plebiscite.
Recognizing that the Sahrawis would likely vote for independence,
Morocco stacked the voter rolls with Moroccan citizens who had
immigrated into the occupied territory or otherwise claimed had
ancestral ties to the area. Using their power on the Security
Council, the United States and France repeatedly blocked the UN
from enforcing its mandate for a Sahrawi plebiscite.
In September 1997, the diplomatic stalemate appeared to be broken
through the efforts of UN Special Envoy and former U.S. Secretary
of State James Baker that appeared to have worked out the
registration process obstacles, which included some further
concessions to the Moroccans. This was endorsed in UN Security
Council Resolution 1133. Still fearing it would lose, however,
Morocco has refused to implement this agreement as well.
With the diplomatic umbrella of France and the United States
protecting the monarchy from its international obligations, it now
appears that Baker will soon be recommending that the UN drop the
idea for a plebiscite and replace it with a settlement providing
Western Sahara with limited autonomy for an interim period while
recognizing its annexation to Morocco.
The Western Saharan government-in-exile has rightly dismissed this
proposal as a fundamental violation of right of Sahrawi
self-determination, the UN charter, and basic principles of
international law. Indeed, it has threatened to go to war, possibly
with the support of Algeria, rather than have Morocco's conquest
stand uncontested. The SADR has been recognized by more than 75
countries and is a full member state of the Organization of African
Unity. There is likely to be strong resistance against a
Western-led effort to legitimize what most African states see as an
act of colonialism.
Should Baker's proposal be accepted, it could not only provoke a
regional war but would also set a dangerous precedent of rewarding
the conquest of territory by force and likely embolden potential
aggressors around the world. As with the analogous case of East
Timor, it may take a mass mobilization by human rights activists
around the world to force the major powers to allow the UN to
enforce its obligations and allow an oppressed people their right
to self-determination.
Stephen Zunes <zunes@usfca.edu> is Middle East/North Africa editor
and senior policy analyst for the Foreign Policy in Focus Project.
He is an associate professor and chair of the Peace & Justice
Studies Program at the University of San Francisco.
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by
Africa Action (incorporating the Africa Policy Information
Center, The Africa Fund, and the American Committee on Africa).
Africa Action's information services provide accessible
information and analysis in order to promote U.S. and
international policies toward Africa that advance economic,
political and social justice and the full spectrum of human rights.
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