The MINURSO mandate, human rights and the autonomy solution for Western Sahara

Abstract

Over recent years, international pressure has been increasing for the inclusion of a human rights monitoring mechanism within the MINURSO mandate, thus putting an end to an anomaly among current UN peacekeeping missions. This profile argues that, in the context of the Moroccan proposal for autonomy as the final settlement of the Western Sahara conflict, it makes little sense for Morocco to spend – as it currently does – extensive political capital on opposing such a mechanism. Territorial autonomy is almost exclusively dealt with within a human rights framework, and respect for human rights is considered a sine qua non for a functioning autonomy. The fear that such monitoring would weaken Moroccan sovereignty seems overblown: autonomy arrangements regularly have international oversight mechanisms built into them.