United Nations Mission and Conflict Resolution in Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, 1991-2019

This research work investigates the United Nations Mission and Conflict Resolution in Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic 1991-2019. The Western Sahara has been in a state of political crisis since Spain granted the territory to Morocco and Mauritania in 1975. In April 1991, United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) was established by Security Council Resolution 690 of 1991 with Military and civilian observers though without resolution thus the present study. The study adopted historical and descriptive research design. A total of fifteen military personnel who have served or currently serving in MINURSO and two relevant civilians were interviewed via Skype, WhatsApp, Messenger and directly while other information were gathered through journals and published books. The Realist Framework of Pugh in 2004was the theory adopted and seen as relevant for this study. Three research questions and objectives were formulated for the study. The data collected were analysed using contextual and descriptive approach. From the analysis, it was found that the unresolved disagreement over the status of Western Sahara has persisted as a result of several factors including among others: poor performance of UN mission mandate, regional supremacy squabbles between Algeria and Morocco, and finally the combined super powers’ self-interest and struggle for supremacy which is making resolution of the conflict in Western Sahara difficult. Base on the study findings, the study recommends among others that UN should proceed to the transitional and referendum stages of the Settlement Plan. Again, major powers should stop prioritising their own self-interests at the expense of the wellbeing of the generality of the local population affected by the conflict in Western Sahara.