Western Sahara
UN extends Western Sahara mission

afrol.com, 30 October - The United Nations Security Council yesterday extended the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara for four months, urging the parties to resolve their differences. The parties, however are farer apart than ever, and POLISARIO warns the UN that a renewed armed conflict is upcoming.

The Council unanimously adopted a resolution extending the mandate of its Mission in Western Sahara, which is known by its French acronym MINURSO. It however stressed that this was with the expectation that the two sides "will continue to try and resolve the multiple problems relating to the implementation of the Settlement Plan and try to agree upon a mutually acceptable political solution to their dispute." 

The four-month extension was recommended by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his latest report to the Security Council on the situation in Western Sahara. According to that report, there has been no progress in overcoming obstacles to the implementation of the Settlement Plan. The Council had approved that Plan in 1990, paving the way for the establishment of MINURSO, which was set up to organize a Referendum that would allow the people of the Territory to choose between independence or integration with Morocco.

This Referendum was expected to take place in July 2000, but was suspended by Kofi Annan in December last year after the Moroccan party had presented an enormous list of complaints against the census, demanding that the cases of tens of thousands of individuals should be heard. Morocco claims that important segments of the Sahrawi populations are denied their right to participate in the Referendum.

Morocco is achieving its strategy of gaining time and tiring the UN, which previously showed more strength in its effort to help the Sahrawis to gain their independence. While the accords of 1991 clearly stated that the only acceptable solution to the Sahara conflict was a referendum, the UN now is open to solutions based on direct negotiations between Morocco and the Sahrawi liberation movement POLISARIO.

Ahmed Bouhari, POLISARIO representative to the UN, stated, as a reaction the the report by Annan, that the UN was acting "clumsy" in its handling of the Sahara conflict. This could "enhance the risk of a renewed military confrontation," he added.

- The UN is slowly loosing its credibility and prestige in finding a solution to the conflict by letting Morocco doing and not doing how it pleases," Bouhari stated. Bouhari in particular referred to Annan's mediator and Personal Envoy, James Baker III (ex US Foreign Minister), which he sees giving in to Moroccan demands of a negotiated solution.

Source: Based on UN  sources

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