UN secretary general recommends technical extension of MINURSO mandate

The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, proposed Wednesday the Security Council to authorize a two month technical extension of the mandate of MINURSO (French acronym for UN mission supervising the holding of a referendum in the Sahara).

Annan says in a letter to the President of the Security Council, that his Personal Envoy for the Sahara, James Baker, who has been consulting with the parties involved, as part of resolution 1359 adopted on June 29, 2001, notified him additional time is needed for these consultations.

Accordingly, the Secretary-General proposes that the Security Council authorize a technical extension of the MINURSO mandate which is set to expire at the end of this month until January 31, 2002.

Annan added he intends to submit to the security council a new report shortly before the present mandate expires.