The silent UN in Western Sahara
What is the UN really doing in Western Sahara?
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Why has the decolonisation of the territory failed, and howcome is the UN mission in Western Sahara not allowed to monitor the human rights violations committed?
On 6th November 2015, forty years have passed since troops from Morocco and Mauritania invaded the Spanish colony of Western Sahara. The International Court of Justice had then already concluded the two states had no sovereign rights over the territory. Western Sahara is still dealt with by the UN as the last remaining colony in Africa, the bulk of the land under foreign annexation.
Governments such as the US, UK and Norway have requested that the United Nations Mission for a Referendum for Western Sahara (MINURSO) be allowed to monitor human rights. This has so far been blocked by Morocco's ally, France.
Meet Kurt Mosgaard from Denmark, former force commander in the MINURSO operation.