Sahara: Annan recommends political solution and extension of MINURSO term
Morocco, Politics, 6/24/2001

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended in a report submitted Friday to the Security Council exploring a political solution to the Sahara issue on the basis of the framework agreement proposed by his special envoy, James Baker.

Annan who proposed this solution as "the last window of opportunity for years to come," recommended a five-month term extension of MINURSO (UN mission for the referendum in the Sahara) and suggested that during this period, his personal envoy "would invite Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania, to start, under his auspices and as parties, direct or indirect talks on the framework-agreement proposal and, eventually, negotiate modifications that would render it acceptable to all the parties."

During negotiations, "the settlement plan will not be abandoned but will be put on hold," writes Mr. Annan adding the MINURSO identification commission would be suspended and the Special representative for the Sahara would be probing means to reduce the size of unnecessary staff of the UN mission.

The report also recalls that James Baker was appointed as UN secretary general's special envoy in 1997 to examine, in consultation with other parties, the applicability of the settlement plan in its present form, explore all possibilities of adjustments acceptable to all parties and likely to improve its chances of being implemented, or recommend other eventual paths to settle the conflict. Annan also surveys all efforts made since, including several rounds of Baker's supervised talks and notes that the major difficulty was the necessity to obtain the agreement of all parties to implement any measure while identifying the electorate was and still is one of the major causes of the repeated delays of the process.

Of unsettled issues, the report cites drawing lists of persons eligible to vote in the referendum, in addition to other key issues such as the liberation of war prisoners, the repatriation of Sahrawi returnees eligible to vote and most importantly a mechanism to secure the enforcement of the referendum outcome.

Annan urges Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania to accept to meet, as parties, either directly or indirectly, under the auspices of Baker to discuss specific elements of the framework agreement. He also invited parties, most particularly Algeria which expressed will to supply to the special envoy all the needed clarifications on weaknesses and imbalances noted in the framework agreement, to engage in this discussions and negotiate with James Baker any modification it wishes to bring to the proposal.

In case the UN secretary general's special envoy decides to carry on talks beyond five months in a bid to give chances to the framework-agreement that would be acceptable to Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria, and Mauritania, the secretary general recommends that the Security Council extends the MINURSO term and in case Baker considers it necessary to carry on consultations beyond the initial five months, the Security Council could decide to reconsider the MINURSO mandate and examine what other role it can plan in these circumstances.

After he recalled that it took five years to negotiate the UN settlement plan and another ten years for efforts to enforce it, the secretary general argues that the framework agreement could be the "the last window of opportunity for years to come" and invites all parties to seize the opportunity in the interest of the Sahara population and the people in the region.

The world body deployed in 1991 the MINURSO that has been supervising since then a cease-fire and preparing for the referendum.

Previous Stories:
  Moroccan NGO forces Polisario to cancel activities in Las Palmas   (6/19/2001)
  UN General Assembly opens us$ 50 million credit for one-year financing of MINURSO   (6/19/2001)
  Europe supports strategic backing to south-Mediterranean countries   (6/15/2001)

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