Giv FN i Vestsahara mandat til at overvåge menneskerettighederne

UN Photo/ Evan Schneider

Da FN's generalsekretær Ban Ki-moon i marts 2016 besøgte Marokko og det besatte Vestsahara, fik det nogle ganske uventede konsekvenser, da generalsekretæren benyttede netop ordet 'besættelse' om den marokkanske tilstedeværelse i det omstridte område.

Udtalelsen afstedkom flere demonstrationer - med marokkanske ministre blandt deltagerne - og ikke mindst udvisningen af knap 80 internationalt ansatte fra FN-styrken MINURSO.

MINURSO, FN's fredsbevarende mission i Vestsahara er den eneste af sin slags, der ikke har mandat til at overvåge overholdelsen af menneskerettigheder eller den generelle menneskerettighedssituation i det område, den arbejde i.

Nu i april skal FN's Sikkerhedsråd diskutere en forlængelse af mandatet for MINURSO. I den anledning opfordrer vi sammen med de øvrige fire skandinaviske FN-forbund:

United Nations peacekeepers must be given a mandate to monitor the human rights situation in Western Sahara

The five Nordic United Nations Associations urge for an expansion of the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). In April, a renewal of the mandate is to be discussed in the United Nations Security Council.

MINURSO is the only current UN peacekeeping mission lacking a human rights mandate. In response to the dire human rights situation in Western Sahara, several initiatives have been brought forward urging such an expansion. To include human rights in the mandate of MINURSO would raise international awareness of possible human rights violations in Western Sahara and enable their prevention.

The five Nordic United Nations Associations therefore urge the Security Council to expand the mandate of MINURSO to include human rights. MINURSO peacekeepers must be granted unhindered access to carry out this mandate in the parts of Western Sahara controlled by Morocco and the Polisario as well as the refugee camps outside Tindouf, Algeria.