NAM summit Backs UN Settlement Plan for the Sahara

The 12th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement renewed its backing of the UN settlement plan for the Sahara.

At the end of their summit Thursday in Durban (South Africa), NAM member-countries adopted a resolution hailing the progress made toward the settlement of the Sahara issue and renewed backing to "the UN efforts for holding an impartial and free referendum in the Sahara in conformity with the UN plan, the Houston Accords and the relevant Security Council resolutions."

The U.N. mission for the referendum in the Sahara (MINURSO) said Wednesday that the identification commission has completed the identification process with 147,000 applicants wishing to take part in the projected UN referendum in the Sahara.

The MINURSO also said members of the contested tribes H41, H61 and J51/52 were not covered by the identification.

The referendum will determine whether the Sahara, a former spanish colony retrieved by Morocco in 1975, sets up on its own or joins Morocco.

Initially set for next December 7, the referendum was delayed for several times, due to problems in the identification operation.