UN Mission in Western Sahara - 1979 (2011)

S/RES/1979 follows the line of many Security Council resolutions that have little actual content and many references to other resolutions to provide the bulk of the substance. The main point of the resolution is to renew the mission in Western Sahara until April 30th, 2012, while calling for more cooperation and action and checking the reports that have been submitted to the Council. The goal is to go through the current work that the UN is developing in the Western Sahara towards a peaceful resolution.

An interesting portion of the resolution is its beginning when they recall and reaffirm all their previous resolution on the subject, only after that they go to specify five Council resolutions, from 2007 to 2010 as their basis of action for this resolution. They move forward calling for the cooperation of both sides of the conflict that is taking place in Western Sahara. There is a constant tone in the resolution of continuing the work that is being developed with wording such as inviting parties to demonstrate political will, expressing concern towards violations of previous political agreements, taking note of rounds of negotiation and negotiations that are to lead to new rounds of negotiations. The language of the preamble of S/RES/1979 states their support of the ongoing work of the United Nations and the personnel in Western Sahara, also calling attention to recent reports submitted to the Council. There is also call for support of the efforts regarding refugees and human rights in the ground with the important point that the status quo is not acceptable as a result for the region. The preamble also features calls for the parties to come together to negotiate a settlement of the situation.

The operative clauses start calling full respect of the military agreement that has been established with the mission of the United Nations and calling all parties to cooperate fully with the work of the organization. It also welcomes the talks that are taking place to hold another round of negotiations in the area, following the lines of a report of the UN in 2008. It calls the parties to continue to show political will to overcome the conflictual atmosphere. It moves on affirming strong support to the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy when it comes to their commitment towards negotiating a solution and to pursuing it in good faith. The resolution also calls Member States to lend their assistance to these tasks when capable. The accountability that the resolution aims for is in the form of a report that is called for before the end of the new mandate (April 30th, 2012) to be submitted by the Secretary-General to the Security Council. In addition to these calls, it also urges Member States to make voluntary contributions to the mission. There is also a call for the Secretary-General to take the “the necessary measures to ensure full compliance in MINURSO with the United Nations zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse”. This shows some concern with the position of the peacekeepers on the ground and the possible abuse of their position, which is a good development. After all, the resolution decides to remain seized of the matter.