Security Council resolution 2548 (2020) [on extension of the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 Oct. 2021]
Symbol: S/RES/2548 (2020)
Date: 2020-10-30
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/75 [45] UN MISSION FOR THE REFERENDUM IN WESTERN SAHARA
S/75 [44] WESTERN SAHARA QUESTION
S/ X The situation concerning Western Sahara.
Subjects: UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara|UN. Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS|WESTERN SAHARA|NEGOTIATION|PEACE AGREEMENTS|WESTERN SAHARA QUESTION
Votes in favour: 13
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 2
Voting record:
country: BELGIUM
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
vote: yes
country: ESTONIA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: GERMANY
vote: yes
country: INDONESIA
vote: yes
country: NIGER
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: abstention
country: SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
vote: yes
country: SOUTH AFRICA
vote: abstention
country: TUNISIA
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes
country: VIET NAM
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                   S/RES/2548 (2020)
               Security Council                                                  Distr.: General
                                                                                 30 October 2020




               Resolution 2548 (2020)
               Adopted by the Security Council on 30 October 2020

                    The Security Council,
                    Recalling and reaffirming all its previous resolutions on Western Sahara,
                    Reaffirming its strong support for the efforts of the Secretary-General and his
               incoming Personal Envoy to implement resolutions 1754 (2007), 1783 (2007), 1813
               (2008), 1871 (2009), 1920 (2010), 1979 (2011), 2044 (2012), 2099 (2013), 2152
               (2014), 2218 (2015), 2285 (2016), 2351 (2017), 2414 (2018), 2440 (2018), 2468
               (2019), and 2494 (2019),
                    Paying tribute to Horst Köhler, former Personal Envoy of the Secretary -General
               for Western Sahara, and commending his efforts in holding the round -table process,
               which created new momentum in the political process,
                   Looking forward to the appointment of a new Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara at the earliest opportunity,
                    Welcoming the new momentum created by the first round-table meeting on
               5−6 December 2018 and the second round-table meeting on 21–22 March 2019, and
               commitment by Morocco, the Frente Polisario, Algeria, and Mauritania to engage in
               the UN political process on Western Sahara in a serious and respectful manner in
               order to identify elements of convergence,
                     Encouraging the resumption of consultations between the incoming Personal
               Envoy and Morocco, the Frente Polisario, Algeria and Mauritania in this regard to
               build on the progress achieved,
                     Reaffirming its commitment to assist the parties to achieve a just, lasting, and
               mutually acceptable political solution, based on compromise, which will provide for
               the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in the context of arrangements
               consistent with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the Un ited Nations, and
               noting the role and responsibilities of the parties in this respect,
                    Reiterating its call upon Morocco, the Frente Polisario, Algeria and Mauritania
               to cooperate more fully with each other, including through building additional trust,
               and with the United Nations, as well as to strengthen their involvement in the political
               process and to achieve progress towards a political solution,
                    Recognizing that achieving a political solution to this long-standing dispute and
               enhanced cooperation between the Member States of the Maghreb Arab Union would




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               contribute to stability and security, in turn leading to jobs, growth and opportunities
               for all the peoples in the Sahel region,
                    Welcoming the efforts of the Secretary-General to keep all peacekeeping
               operations, including the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western
               Sahara (MINURSO), under close review and reiterating the need for the Council to
               pursue a rigorous, strategic approach to peacekeeping deployments, and effective
               management of resources,
                     Recalling resolution 2378 (2017) and its request of the Secretary-General to
               ensure that data related to the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations, including
               peacekeeping performance data, is used to improve analytics and the evaluation of
               mission operations, based on clear and well identified benchmarks, and further
               recalling resolution 2436 (2018) and its request of the Secretary-General to ensure
               that decisions to recognize and incentivize outstanding performance and decisions
               regarding deployment, remediation, training, withholding of financial reimbursement,
               and repatriation of uniformed or dismissal of civilian personnel, are predicated on
               objective performance data,
                    Recalling resolution 2242 (2015) and 2538 (2020) and its aspiration to increase
               the number of women in military and police contingents of United Nations
               peacekeeping operations,
                     Recognizing the important role played by MINURSO on the ground and the need
               for it to fully implement its mandate, including its role in supporting the incoming
               Personal Envoy to achieve a mutually acceptable political solution,
                    Expressing concern about the violations of existing agreements, reiterating the
               importance of full adherence to these commitments in order to sustain momentum in
               the Western Sahara political process, and taking note of the commitments provided
               by the Frente Polisario to the former Personal Envoy, and in thi s regard welcoming
               the Secretary-General’s assessment on 23 September 2020 that the situation in
               Western Sahara has remained relatively calm with the ceasefire continuing to hold
               and respect by the parties for MINURSO’s mandate,
                    Taking note of the Moroccan proposal presented on 11 April 2007 to the
               Secretary-General and welcoming serious and credible Moroccan efforts to move the
               process forward towards resolution; also taking note of the Polisario Front proposal
               presented 10 April 2007 to the Secretary-General,
                     Encouraging in this context, the parties to demonstrate further political will
               towards a solution including by expanding upon their discussion of each other’s
               proposals and recommitting to UN efforts in a spirit of realism and compromise, and
               further encouraging the neighbouring countries to make contributions to the political
               process,
                     Encouraging the parties to cooperate further with the United Nations Office of
               the High Commissioner for Refugees in identifying and implementing confidence -
               building measures that can serve to foster the trust necessary for a successful political
               process,
                     Stressing the importance of improving the human rights situation in Western
               Sahara and the Tindouf camps, and encouraging the parties to work with the
               international community to develop and implement independent and credible
               measures to ensure full respect for human rights, bearing in mind their relevant
               obligations under international law,
                   Encouraging the parties to sustain in their respective efforts to enhance the
               promotion and protection of human rights in Western Sahara and the Tindouf refugee
               camps, including the freedoms of expression and association,

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                Welcoming in this regard, steps and initiatives taken by Morocco, and the role
           played by the National Council on Human Rights Co mmissions operating in Dakhla
           and Laayoune, and Morocco’s interaction with Special Procedures of the United
           Nations Human Rights Council,
                 Strongly encouraging enhancing cooperation with the Office of the United
           Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), including through
           facilitating visits to the region,
                 Noting with deep concern the continued hardships faced by Sahrawi refugees
           and their dependency on external humanitarian assistance, and further noting with
           deep concern insufficient funding for those living in Tindouf refugee camps and the
           risks associated with the reduction of food assistance,
                Reiterating its request for consideration of a refugee registration in the Tindouf
           refugee camps and emphasizing efforts be made in this regard,
                 Recalling United Nations Security Council resolutions 1325 and 2250 and
           related resolutions; stressing the importance of a commitment by the parties to
           continue the process of negotiations through the United Nations -sponsored talks and
           encouraging the full, effective and meaningful participation of women and active and
           meaningful participation of youth in these talks,
                Recognizing that the status quo is not acceptable, and noting further that
           progress in negotiations is essential in order to improve the quality o f life of the
           people of Western Sahara in all its aspects,
                Affirming its full support for Special Representative of the Secretary-General
           for Western Sahara and Head of MINURSO Colin Stewart,
                Having considered the report of the Secretary-General of 23 September 2020
           (S/2020/938),
                1.    Decides to extend the mandate of MINURSO until 31 October 2021;
                 2.    Emphasizes the need to achieve a realistic, practicable and enduring
           political solution to the question of Western Sahara based on compromise and the
           importance of aligning the strategic focus of MINURSO and orienting resources of
           the United Nations to this end;
                 3.    Expresses its full support for the ongoing efforts of the Secretary -General
           and his incoming Personal Envoy to sustain the renewed negotiations process in order
           to achieve a solution to the Western Sahara question, notes the intention of the former
           Personal Envoy to invite Morocco, the Frente Polisario, Algeria, and Mauritania to
           meet again in the same format, and welcomes the commitment of Morocco, the Frente
           Polisario, Algeria, and Mauritania to remain engaged throughout the duration of this
           process, in a spirit of realism and compromise, to ensure a successful outcome;
                 4.   Calls upon the parties to resume negotiations under the auspices of the
           Secretary-General without preconditions and in good faith, taking into account the
           efforts made since 2006 and subsequent developments with a view to achieving a just,
           lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the
           self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in the context of arrangements
           consistent with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, and
           noting the role and responsibilities of the parties in this respect;
                5.    Invites Member States to lend appropriate assistance to these talks;
                6.    Reaffirms the need for full respect of the military agreements reached with
           MINURSO with regard to the ceasefire and calls on the parties to adhere fully to
           those agreements, implement their commitments to the former Personal Envoy, and

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               refrain from any actions that could undermine UN-facilitated negotiations or further
               destabilize the situation in the Western Sahara;
                    7.    Reiterates its call upon all parties to cooperate fully with MINURSO,
               including its free interaction with all interlocutors, and to take the necessary steps to
               ensure the security of as well as unhindered movement and immediate access for the
               United Nations and associated personnel in carrying out their mandate, in conformity
               with existing agreements;
                     8.   Emphasizes the importance of a renewed commitment by the parties to
               advancing the political process in preparation for further negotiations, recalls its
               endorsement of the recommendation in the report of 14 April 2008 (S/2008/251) that
               realism and a spirit of compromise by the parties are essential to achieve progress in
               negotiations, and encourages the neighbouring countries to make important, active
               contributions to this process;
                     9.   Calls upon the parties to demonstrate political will and work in an
               atmosphere propitious for dialogue in order to advance negotiations, thus ensuring
               implementation of resolutions 1754 (2007), 1783 (2007), 1813 (2008), 1871 (2009),
               1920 (2010), 1979 (2011), 2044 (2012), 2099 (2013), 2152 (2014), 2218 (2015), 2285
               (2016), 2351 (2017), 2414 (2018), 2440 (2018), 2468 (2019), and 2494 (2019) and
               the success of negotiations;
                     10. Requests the Secretary-General to brief the Security Council on a regular
               basis, and at any time he deems appropriate during the mandate period, to inclu de
               within six months of this mandate’s renewal and again prior to its expiration, on the
               status and progress of these negotiations under his auspices, on the implementation
               of this resolution, challenges to MINURSO’s operations and steps taken to address
               them, expresses its intention to meet to receive and discuss his briefings and in this
               regard, further requests the Secretary-General to provide a report on the situation in
               Western Sahara well before the end of the mandate period;
                     11. Welcomes the initiatives undertaken by the Secretary-General to
               standardize a culture of performance in UN peacekeeping, and reaffirms its support
               for the development of a comprehensive and integrated performance policy
               framework that identifies clear standards of performance for evaluating all United
               Nations civilian and uniformed personnel working in and supporting peacekeeping
               operations that facilitates effective and full implementation of mandates, and includes
               comprehensive and objective methodologies based on clear and well-defined
               benchmarks to ensure accountability for underperformance and incentives and
               recognition for outstanding performance, and calls on him to apply this framework to
               MINURSO as described in resolution 2436 (2018), requests the Secretary-General to
               seek to increase the number of women in MINURSO, as well as to ensure the full,
               effective, and meaningful participation of women in all aspects of operations;
                    12. Urges the parties and neighbouring states to engage productively with
               MINURSO as it further considers how new technologies can be used to reduce risk,
               improve force protection, and better implement its mandate;
                     13. Encourages the parties to cooperate with the Office of the United Nations
               High Commissioner for Refugees to identify and implement confidence -building
               measures, including to engage women and youth, and encourages neighbouring states
               to support these efforts;
                     14. Urges Member States to provide new and additional voluntary
               contributions to fund food programmes to ensure that the humanitarian needs of
               refugees are adequately addressed and avoid reductions in food rations;



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                 15. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to take necessary measures to
           ensure full compliance of all personnel in MINURSO with the United Nations zero -
           tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and to keep the Council fully
           informed through his reports to the Council about the Mission’s p rogress in this
           regard, and urges troop-contributing and police-contributing countries to continue
           taking appropriate preventative action including vetting of all personnel,
           predeployment and in-mission awareness training, and to ensure full accountability
           in cases of such conduct involving their personnel through timely investigation of
           allegations by troop-contributing and police-contributing countries and MINURSO,
           as appropriate;
                16.   Decides to remain seized of the matter.




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