Edith Lederer, US Federal News Radio, March 23, 2016 7:57 pm
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. official warned Wednesday that the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the disputed Western Sahara will have to shut down unless Morocco reverses its unprecedented expulsion order.
The official, who is familiar with the latest controversy over Western Sahara, said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants the Security Council to take action to protect the U.N. peacekeeping mission known as MINURSO….(cont.)
Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, 23 March 2016
“Western Sahara: First off: an update on Western Sahara.
We have sent a note verbale to Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, in reply to the note verbale sent by the Government of Morocco on 16 March.
The note makes clear that we are deeply concerned that the recent actions taken by the Government of Morocco are contrary to Morocco’s legal obligations as agreed under the Status of Mission Agreement for the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). That agreement includes a legal obligation for Morocco to ensure ….(cont.) ”
By Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, Canada
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations Security Council must act to ensure Morocco’s decision to expel personnel from a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the disputed territory of Western Sahara does not set a bad precedent for other missions, a U.N. official said on Wednesday.
The controversy over U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s use of the word “occupation” ….(cont.)
Business Standard, 18 March 2016
Morocco has ordered 84 international staff members in the UN peacekeeping mission for Western Sahara to leave within three days, in protest at recent comments by the UN secretary-general about the disputed territory. The UN called the move “unprecedented.”
By Edith Lederer, Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS — Mar 24, 2016
The U.N. Security Council announced its support for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the disputed Western Sahara late Thursday, calling for the controversy between Morocco and the U.N. secretary-general to be addressed so the mission can resume full operation.
Algeria Press Service, 14 February 2016
NEW YORK-The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Saturday called on all officials and UN bodies not to participate in the Crans Montana Forum, scheduled for March in the occupied city of Dakhla, Western Sahara.
The Saharawi President and Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Mohamed Abdelaziz, recently sent a letter to Ban Ki-moon, deplored the decision of the board of the Crans Montana Forum to hold its next edition in the occupied city of Dakhla. (cont.)
Welcome to Dakhla – the pearl of the southern region of Morocco
Philippe Maton/Flickr
April 2015 – On Business Class to an Occupied City in the Desert
Louise Gronkjaer writes “A brand new conference hall in the middle of the desert. Hundreds of security guards to patrol every sand dune. And absolutely no good reasons to justify that the Moroccan king has spent thousands to fly me in. So why am I in Dakhla? …(cont.)”
WSRW, Western Sahara Resource Watch, 6 March 2016
Upon the visit of the UN Secretary-General to the Saharawi refugee camps yesterday, the SADR Government deposited with Ban Ki-Moon – as the depositary of the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea – the coordinates and charts of its exact EEZ claims.
“The coordinates and charts showing the EEZ outer limits will now be communicated to all UN member states trough their Permanent Missions in New York”, stated Frente Polisario in a press release.
sprasd.info, Sahara Press Service
LONDON (UK), March 09, 2016 (SPS) – Polisario Front representative in London Mohamed Limam Mohamed Ali said Tuesday that the Sahrawi people are awaiting the fulfilment of the promises UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon made during his visit to the Sahrawi liberated territories and the Sahrawi refugee camps….(cont.)
AfricaNews. 10/03 – 08:16
The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday rejected Morocco’s criticism after his visit to the region to restart talks between Rabat and the Polisario Front over Western Sahara, claiming that his goal remained a priority. Mr. Ban visited Mauritania and a Sahrawi refugees camp in Algeria last week in the hope of shifting positions on the conflict that has lasted four decades.