I. Introduction
1 . The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2044 (2012), by which the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 April 2013 and requested the Secretary-General to report to it on the situation in Western Sahara before the end of the mandate period. The present report covers developments since my report dated 5 April 2012 (S/2012/197) and describes the situation on the ground, the status and progress of the negotiations and the existing challenges to the Mission’s operations, as requested by the Council in its resolution 2044 (2012).
II. Recent developments in Western Sahara
2 . Within the Territory, largely peaceful demonstrations by Saharan protesters occurred throughout the reporting period in Laayoune and other major towns. They were usually unannounced, small in scale and swiftly dispersed by Moroccan security forces. At times, the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y de Río de Oro (Frente Polisario) alleged that disproportionate force was used.
3 . In some instances, protesters drew attention to aspects of the exploitation of natural resources of the region that they considered contrary to international law. In others, they raised concerns regarding the issue of the provision of social services. In Dakhla and Laayoune, fisherfolk and current and former employees of the Boucraa phosphate mines demanded improvements in labour conditions. In October 2012, 11 Saharans, including four women, entered the MINURSO team site in Smara west of the berm demanding increased social assistance. Several hours later, the group was persuaded to leave the compound after the authorities promised to look into its demands. Five members of the same group re-entered the team site during the visit of my Personal Envoy in March 2013, requesting to meet him. Again, they were persuaded to leave.
4 . Other protests took the form of expressions of support for self-determination or of solidarity with Saharans detained after the Gdim Izik events of November 2010 and the Dakhla incidents of September 2011. During one sit-in, protesters sought to force their way into the Laayoune regional office of the Moroccan National Human Rights Council, but were dispersed by Moroccan security forces. In February 2013, the trial of the suspects in the Gdim Izik disturbances, and the subsequent verdict, saw increased police deployments in Laayoune, Dakhla and Smara, in addition to street tensions, including pro-Frente Polisario graffiti in some neighbourhoods.
5 . Demonstrations on a somewhat larger scale, involving between 50 and 100 participants, occurred in Laayoune on the occasion of the visits to Western Sahara of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan Méndez, in September, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, in October, and my Personal Envoy to Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, in November and March. In November, there were also some disturbances on the anniversary of the dismantling of the Gdim Izik camp. Local human rights organizations regularly reported excessive use of force against demonstrators by Moroccan security forces. The demonstrations cited above are those of which MINURSO had direct or indirect knowledge. Others were reported, mainly in the pro-Frente Polisario media, but could not be verified.
6 . On several occasions, demonstrations in reaction to developments in the Territory or commemorating specific events, such as the dismantling of the Gdim Izik camp, were organized in the refugee camps south of Tindouf.
7 . The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations visited Western Sahara and the refugee camps near Tindouf in October 2012. Accompanied by my Special Representative, Wolfgang Weisbrod-Weber, he held consultations with the Moroccan and Frente Polisario authorities on MINURSO operations, confidencebuilding measures and regional security challenges.
8 . My Personal Envoy visited MINURSO and the region late in October 2012.
After meetings in Rabat, he travelled to Laayoune and met a wide range of interlocutors, including administrative authorities and human rights and civil society organizations, in the company of my Special Representative. The Mission also supported other aspects of his visit, which took him to MINURSO team sites in Mahbas and Tifariti, as well as to the refugee camps near Tindouf, where he met the Secretary-General of Frente Polisario, Mohamed Abdelaziz, and other Frente Polisario authorities.
9 . In October 2012, my Special Representative visited Algiers and held consultations with the Algerian authorities and diplomatic representatives of the Group of Friends of Western Sahara. In March 2013, he met the Mauritanian authorities to discuss issues of mutual concern.
10 . The issue of human rights was the focus of visits by several human rights organizations during the period. In August 2012, a delegation from the Robert F.
Kennedy Centre for Justice and Human Rights visited Western Sahara and the camps near Tindouf. Its members met MINURSO, Moroccan and Saharan human rights organizations, civil society representatives and Moroccan and Frente Polisario authorities. In September 2012, members of the Leadership Council for Human Rights also visited the Territory and met local interlocutors and my Special Representative.
11 . Also in September 2012, the Special Rapporteur on torture visited the Territory west of the berm at the invitation of the Government of Morocco. He held meetings with the Moroccan authorities, the judiciary, civil society members, the regional office of the Moroccan National Human Rights Council, United Nations agenciesand victims of torture and their families. In Laayoune, the Special Rapporteur met my Special Representative to discuss his work and the mandate of MINURSO.
12 . Late in September 2012, a delegation from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights visited the refugee camps near Tindouf, where it met MINURSO and the United Nations agencies working in Tindouf. It was unable to visit Western Sahara itself.
13 . On occasion, the Moroccan authorities denied access to the Territory to international visitors, most recently a delegation of members of the European Parliament travelling in their private capacity in March 2013.
14 . On 17 February 2013, the Permanent Military Tribunal of the Royal Armed Forces in Rabat pronounced its verdict in the trial of 25 Saharan civilians. Nine people were sentenced to life imprisonment. The men were charged in relation to violence during and after the dismantling of the Gdim Izik protest camp near Laayoune in November 2010, which resulted in the death of 11 members of the Moroccan security forces and the mutilation of corpses. Two Saharans, including a minor, were also killed during the events. Local sources stated that many of the accused were known for their political or human rights activism or for having participated in negotiations with the Moroccan authorities in the run-up to the dismantling of the camp.
15 . In December 2012, as part of the regionalization process launched by King Mohammed VI, the President of the Moroccan Economic, Social and Environmental Council published a preliminary and critical assessment of the current development model of the Territory, including governance and issues of transparency and accountability, in addition to human rights. A final report is expected by October 2013.
16 . Nearly a year after the European Parliament rejected the extension of the 2007 Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Morocco, negotiations resumed in the final quarter of 2012 amid vocal opposition from Frente Polisario and other organizations. As negotiations continued for its renewal, the Secretary-General of Frente Polisario wrote to me condemning the continuing exploitation by Morocco of the resources of the Territory.