By Samir Bennis Morocco World News New York, April 29, 2013 Following the recent attempt by the American administration to push for the inclusion of a human rights monitoring mechanism in the Sahara, Moroccans held their breath for almost two weeks awaiting the result of the intensive diplomatic efforts made by Morocco to prevent the broadening of MINURSO’s mandate. On Tuesday, Moroccans received with a sig ...

 By Samir Bennis Morocco World News New York, April 20, 2013 Moroccans have been puzzled and taken aback by the unprecedented decision made by the US administration to present a draft resolution to the UN Security Council to push for the inclusion of a human rights monitoring system in the Sahara. Following this announcement, laymen, experts and analysts in Morocco and elsewhere started wondering what are t ...

By Samir Bennis Morocco World News New York, April 19, 2013 On April 8th the United Nations Secretary General made public his annual report on the situation in the Sahara. While many find the report balanced, others are of the view that it makes a formal recommendation on the need to monitor human rights both in the Sahara and the Polisario-run Tindouf camps in southeastern Algeria. This recommendation migh ...

By Samir Bennis Morocco World News New York, April 18, 2013 Following the uproar caused by the United States’ decision to propose a Security Council draft resolution that would include the establishment of human rights monitoring mechanism in the Sahara, laymen, experts and analysts in Morocco and elsewhere, are asking many questions: will the US go forward with this proposal and formally present this draft ...

By Benjamin Villanti Morocco World News New York, March 31, 2013 Earlier this month the United Nations Development Program released its 2013 Human Development Report. This year’s report focused on what it calls the “unprecedented” progress achieved among more than 40 developing countries over the last decade while identifying the common features to these impressive gains. The UNDP report, entitled The Rise ...

By Samir Bennis Morocco World News New York, March 24, 2013 For over five months since he was appointed coach of the Moroccan national team, Mr. Rachid Taoussi did not stop to promise Moroccan fans that he will redress its situation and enable it to recover its erstwhile pride.  Most news outlets praised personality and dedication and said he might be able to be the person of the situation. Although the Mor ...

By Samir Bennis Morocco World News New York, March 10, 2013 Before the start of the lecture organized on Tuesday, March 5 by the Permanent Mission of South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe featuring Spanish actor Javier Bardem and Kerry Kennedy at the United Nations, I talked for a few minutes with Mr. Christopher Ross, Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary General to the Sahara. On a personal level, ...

By Samir Bennis Morocco World News New York, March 9, 2013 Social media is at our disposal and we need to make the best use of it. We should not be just followers of what others do, or simply just share our pictures, our moments of joy or sorrow, or make new virtual friends. We should also use social media to serve a purpose. Nowadays, most people use social media to raise awareness about the issues that ar ...

By Benjamin Villanti Morocco World News New York, February 25, 2013 A strong international consensus has taken shape, a month removed from France’s military intervention, to turn over Mali to a UN peacekeeping operation. Yet, what doesn’t seem so clear is where the Islamist extremist fighters, who managed to take over the northern half of the country, have gone and if they’ve been really defeated. Could a U ...

By Samir Bennis Morocco World News New York, February 4, 2013 The Moroccan nationalists and the advent of the Republic In Spanish literature on the relations between Morocco and Spain, there is one aspect that is more often than not overlooked when trying to understand the reasons why Moroccan nationalists rallied to the cause of the franquistas. Often some commentators dwell on the pivotal role played by t ...