The experience of an United Nations Military Observer in Western Sahara

• Autor(a) principal: Ferreira, Sylvio de Souza
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Migon, Eduardo Xavier Ferreira Glaser
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Conjuntura Austral
• Texto Completo: https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/ConjunturaAustral/article/view/68980
• topic: ONU; Operações de Paz; MINURSO; Saara Ocidental; UN; Peace Operations; MINURSO; Western Sahara

The Western Sahara issue is the most recent, lasting and unresolved case of decolonization in African continent, in the midst of the 21st Century. It is a non- governed territory, located in the northwest portion of Saharan Africa and it has been under UN custody since 1991, when MINURSO had been established. In this regard, this article has as main motivation to communicate the experience of an UN Military Observer, emphasizing peculiar and practical aspects, as well as perceptions in the performance of this appointment. It is an internal vision of the reality of the Peace Operation, the individual and the professional of the UN. In order to do so, this article uses a qualitative approach deploying methodologies such as participant observation and the descriptive case study. It comprises an introduction, which aims to enlighten the reader to the question, a characterization of the area, a historical review of the case, a section of exposure of the methodology and the experience of one of the authors as a UN Military Observer in the Western Sahara itself. Finally, considerations are made at the conclusion.