Morocco, U.N. sign accord on MINURSO forces status, Security Council extends mission

Morocco and the United Nations concluded on Thursday an accord on the status of the forces of the MINURSO (U.N. mission for the holding of a self-determination referendum in the Sahara), the spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general announced.

The accord was initialled by Morocco's permanent representative to the U.N. Ahmed Snoussi and assistant secretary-general for peace-keeping operations, Bernard Miyet.

The document sets the juridical frame of the presence of the U.N. staff in charge of holding the referendum in the Sahara.

The referendum is meant to determine whether the Sahara --a former Spanish colony retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under tripartite accords concluded with Spain and Mauritania- sets up on its own as claimed by the Polisario, or be incorporated into Morocco.

"The (U.N.) security council had called on Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco to sign the accord since the deployment of Swedish and Pakistani military units last spring," the spokesman said.

Algeria and Mauritania signed the accord last November, he said.

Ahmed Snoussi told MAP bureau in New York that with the intensification of the MINURSO activities, it became necessary to conclude the accord.

The diplomat recalled that the MINURSO has been deployed in the Sahara since the establishment of a cease-fire in the early 1990's. This presence has been so far governed by an exchange of letters between the U.N. and Morocco.

Under the new juridical frame, the MINURSO staff will benefit from immunities and will be granted the facilities necessary for the accomplishment of their mission, Snoussi said.

Meanwhile, the U.N. security council extended on Thursday the MINURSO mandate until next March 31.

Under resolution 1228 (1999), the council called on the two parties (Morocco and the Polisario) to take concrete measures to help the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (HCR) to soundly prepare for the return of Sahrawi refugees admitted as voters in the referendum as well as their immediate family members in accordance with the U.N. settlement plan.