Mission mandate extended to January 1996: possibility of withdrawal not ruled out.

In extending the mandate of the five-year-old UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 January 1996, the Security Council noted the Secretary-General's intention to present alternative options, including the possibility of the Mission's withdrawal, if conditions necessary for the start of a transitional period for the referendum on self-determination were not in place before then.

In unanimously adopting resolution 1017 (1995) on 22 September, the Council asked the Secretary-General to report by 15 January on progress towards implementing the UN settlement plan for Western Sahara, stating whether or not the transitional period could begin by 31 May 1996.

The Council also called on the Government of Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (Frente POLISARIO) to work with the UN Secretary-General and MINURSO to implement the settlement plan, stop insisting on strict reciprocity in the operation of the identification centres, and cease all "procrastinating actions which could further delay the holding of the referendum".

The Secretary-General had reported that both sides were reluctant to compromise on any issue which they believed could weaken their own position. He appealed to the parties to make every effort to permit the expeditious implementation of the settlement plan.

The Council also asked for "specific and detailed proposals" to resolve problems hindering the completion of the identification process. After receiving a report from the Secretary-General, the Council would review arrangements for completing the identification process and consider further measures to ensure its prompt completion.

MINURSO - known by its French acronym - was established by Council resolution 658 (1990), which set out plans for a settlement of the Western Sahara question. It provided for UN-supervision of a cease-fire between Morocco and POLISARIO, and a referendum in which the people of the Territory would choose between independence and integration with Morocco.

On 8 September, the Secretary-General reported (S/1995/779) that progress in the last three months had been "disappointing". So far, a total of over 53,000 persons had been identified as being qualified to vote in the referendum, including 40 per cent of applicants residing in the Territory and about half of those in refugee camps. He estimated that, with the cooperation of both parties, the identification process in all four refugee camps and three of four centres in the Territory (with the exception of Laayoune) could be completed in approximately five weeks.

Morocco intended to present 100,000 applicants residing outside the Territory for identification and had reportedly completed preliminary vetting of applicants, the Secretary-General stated, adding that POLISARIO had categorically dismissed the applications as an attempt to include 100,000 Moroccan nationals in the voters' list.

POLISARIO also rejected certain members of the Chorfa, Northern, and Coastal and Southern tribes, including groups which they said "in no sense" belonged to the Territory. POLISARIO suggested that the controversial groups be processed after less contentious cases had been completed. POLISARIO agreed, the report went on, to participate in the identification on the assumption that the number would be modest and the individuals could be identified by one tribal leader from each side.

Morocco, on the other hand, had insisted that there be no discrimination between applicants, irrespective of whether they were currently residing in or outside the Territory, and irrespective of the criterion under which they applied.

Morocco felt that if identification were to take place without the participation of tribal leaders from POLISARIO, documentary evidence would be required to establish that the individual's father was a Saharan and was born in the Territory. POLISARIO and the Organization of African Unity would observe the proceedings. If such a programme could be implemented, there would be no practical reason why the identification of persons living outside, as well as those from the camps and the Territory, could not be completed in approximately four months, it felt.

Morocco also reiterated its commitment to reduce its troops to the agreed level of 65,000 at the appropriate time, the report added. POLISARIO objected to the suggestion that its troops be confined outside the Territory, and Morocco refused to agree that the troops be confined in the area between the sandwall (berm) and the international border of Western Sahara.

The International Committee of the Red Cross was prepared to start working on the release of prisoners of war as soon as the parties were ready to do so, the report stated. Both parties had expressed their readiness to address all questions relating to the agreement on the exchange of prisoners.