In response to the UN Security Council’s renewal of the MINURSO mandate, Oxfam’s Senior Humanitarian Policy Advisor Eveline Rooijmans said:
"While Oxfam welcomes the Council’s decision to renew the mission, the UN has failed to deliver a clear message that it will not tolerate an ersatz peace process.
This conflict is four decades old, and only last week the Secretary-General in his report warned of the possibility of a threat to local stability if negotiations do not urgently resume. The credibility of the Security Council is called into question if it cannot fully restore MINURSO’s original mandate in Western Sahara, and press the parties to return to the negotiating table.
After 40 years in bleak camps—and 25 years of MINURSO—Sahrawi refugees deserve much more than the status quo. Refugees are paying the heaviest price for the stalemate in the negotiations, and today the Security Council missed a crucial opportunity to help fast-track the peace process and allow Sahrawis a chance to live with dignity and self-determination.”
