The UN renewed MINURSO for another six months. The world breathed a sigh of "Eh." It also called for direct negotiations between Polisario and Morocco, which are actually going to happen.Here's the resolution, courtesy of Sahara-Watch. Morocco didn't really get what it wanted, Polisario didn't really get what it wanted, France and the US didn't get what they wanted, but no one got screwed.
Personally, I'm pleased. It would have been nice if the UNSC would've stepped away from diplomacy-ese for a moment and hammered Morocco's autonomy proposal, but that's as likely as Driss Basri calling for a fair referendum. Plus, I'm kind of fond of MINURSO's general buffoonery.
Now, because it's finals week and I don't get credit for Western Sahara blogging (it's only a pass-fail course) , here's a round-up of what other people said about Western Sahara's big week at the UN:
- Sahara-Watch, as mentioned above, was bored with the resolution.
- Western Sahara Info wrote a nice breakdown of who is on whose side in the UNSC.
- Sahara Views knows that if Algeria ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
- Finally, Deadline Pundit (aka Ian Williams), who frequently writes nice things about Western Sahara, writes that the UNSC's television cameras were knocked out when a Polisario representative was speaking. He goes on to say the Western Sahara dispute presents a challenge for international law and the UN, and that Arab states would do well not to set a precedent for annexation if they care about the Palestinians.