On 30 April, the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) - which has been tasked since 1991 with maintaining a ceasefire and monitoring Africa's longest territorial dispute between Morocco and the Sahrawi Polisario Front - was yet again renewed. The UN body was initially set up to facilitate a referendum for self-determination promised to the Sahrawi people. However, the referendum, planned for 1992, has failed to materialise amid disputes over who among the Moroccan settlers would be entitled to vote.
This year, the question of the violation of human rights was at the core of discussions. The United States' initial draft resolution attempted to include a proposition to install UN observers to monitor human rights violations and abuses in the occupied Western Sahara. However, in response to fierce resistance from the governments of Morocco and France at the UN Security Council (UNSC), Washington dropped its demand.
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