Hope for 'transition period' by June: voter identification proceeds.

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has expressed hope that enough progress would have been made by 31 March 1995 in identifying and registering voters in Western Sahara, to enable him to recommend 1 June 1995 as the start of the transitional period.

In a 14 December report (S/1994/1420), the Secretary-General said that in accordance with the UN Settlement Plan for Western Sahara, the combatants of the two sides would be confined to designated locations as of that date--to be known as "D-Day". As soon as possible afterwards, prisoners-of-war would be exchanged, amnesties for political prisoners and detainees proclaimed, and all political prisoners or detainees released.

Not later than 11 weeks after D-Day, by mid-August 1995, the reduction of Moroccan forces in the territory would be completed and all laws or measures that could obstruct the conduct of a free and fair referendum would be suspended.

The Secretary-General, who visited the region in November for consultations with the Frente Popular para la Liberacion de Saguia El-Hamra y de Rio de Oro (Frente POLISARIO) and the Moroccan Government, recommended that the Security Council approve the expansion of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to facilitate the timely completion of the identification and registration process. Such process should then be completed by mid-August and a final list of voters published. The Secretary-General envisaged the referendum to take place by October 1995.

The Security Council said there must be no further undue delay in the holding of a free, fair and impartial referendum for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, in accordance with the settlement plan. In a 15 November statement by its President, Madeleine Albright of the United States, the Council concurred with the Secretary-General's view that the 28 August launching of the process for identifying and registering potential voters was a significant step towards fulfilment of the UN mandate on Western Sahara.

The Council expressed concern over the slow speed of the identification process, particularly over the small proportion of potential voters that had so far been interviewed. While recognizing the logistical difficulties involved, it urged the two parties to exert all possible efforts to facilitate the work of MINURSO, and also urged the earliest possible deployment of the Identification Commission staff already approved by the General Assembly.

In a 5 November report (S/1994/1257), the Secretary-General said that the 28 August launching had marked a significant step towards the fulfilment of the UN mandate. Observers had been of the general view that the process had been conducted with "transparency and rigour" and with the cooperation of all parties.

During the first two months of the registration process, only a very small proportion of applicants had been identified. A last-minute flood of applications had greatly increased the potential scale of the operation, and the dispersal of tribal subgroups, who must be identified individually with the assistance of their sheikhs, had made the operation logistically more complex. As a result, the Secretary-General had decided to review his original intention of recommending that the transitional period should start on 1 October 1994, with the referendum set for 14 February 1995.

The General Assembly on 9 December, in resolution 49/44, restated its support for further UN efforts, in cooperation with the Organization of African Unity, to organize and supervise a referendum for self-determination, in conformity with the settlement plan approved by the Council. It also reaffirmed the agreed goal of holding a free, fair and impartial referendum without any military or administrative constraints, and hoped that direct talks between the two parties would soon resume.