Secretary-general's efforts to resolve obstacles to referendum welcomed.

The Security Council on 19 December welcomed the decision of the Secretary-General to intensify consultations with the Government of Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (POLISARIO) in order to resolve their differences regarding the identification of applicants eligible to vote in the referendum on Western Sahara.

By unanimously adopting resolution 1033 (1955), the Council also requested the Secretary-General to report urgently on the results of those consultations. In the event that they failed to reach agreement, he was requested to provide the Council with options for its consideration, including a programme for the orderly withdrawal of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

The Council also welcomed the Secretary-General's report of 24 November (S/1995/986) as a framework to accelerate and complete the identification process. It called on the two parties to cooperate with the Secretary-General and MINURSO to implement all the other aspects of the Settlement Plan for Western Sahara in accordance with relevant resolutions.

Secretary-General's report

The Secretary-General stated in his report that the identification of voters in Western Sahara had virtually come to a halt and a new approach was needed to carry the process forward. He said the basic obstacle to the process related to certain tribal groups and to persons not resident in the Territory. The identification involved the participation of a sheikh or an alternate from both the Moroccan Government and POLISARIO. However, the parties were either unable or unwilling to make sheikhs available at given times and places.

The Secretary-General proposed that when two sheikhs or alternates were present, one from each side, identification take place as usual. When one party did not provide a sheikh, for whatever reason, identification would take place on the basis of appropriate documentation, with the assistance of the one sheikh present. If neither party made available a sheikh, identification would be based on documentary evidence only.

If identification was allowed to proceed without interruption, 12 centres should be able to complete the process within four months at a rate of 36,000 applicants per month, the Secretary-General said. "Should it fail to proceed with the necessary speed, it will be my intention, as requested by the Security Council...to present for the consideration of the Council alternative options, including the possibility of MINURSO's withdrawal", he added.

Background

The Settlement Plan was accepted by the two parties on 30 August 1988 and approved by the Council on 27 June 1990 in its resolution 658 (1990). It entailed the holding of a referendum, without military or administrative constraints, to enable the people of Western Sahara to choose between independence and integration with Morocco.

In his report, the Secretary-General warned that neither party was likely to be satisfied with his proposal. Morocco wanted to limit the role of documentary evidence and give privilege to that of oral testimony. POLISARIO considered that the new approach would allow for the introduction of applicants who had no ties in Western Sahara. The Secretary-General, however, concluded that it was the only way the process could be carried forward.

In a 27 October letter (S/1995/924), the Secretary-General had informed the Council of decisions taken to accelerate the identification process, in response to the concern expressed by the Council over the delays in its completion.

In the case of three tribal groupings and of all identification outside the Territory and the camps, identification of applicants could be assisted by the sheikh who was present. However, the applicant's claim for inclusion in the electoral roll would be evaluated on the basis of documentary evidence such as: a birth certificate issued by the competent authorities in the country of the applicant's birth to substantiate that he or she was the child of a father born in the Territory or had other links with the Territory; and a document issued by the competent authorities within the internationally recognized frontiers of the Territory before 1974 to substantiate the father's birth in the Territory.

Algeria's complaint

In a 6 December letter to the Council President (S/1995/1011), Algeria, in its capacity as an official observer, said the suggestions made in the Secretary-General's 24 November report were "a serious backsliding" from the very explicit commitments and assurances given to it by the Secretary-General and his Acting Special Representative, and were "a flagrant reversal" with respect to his 27 October letter to the Council.

"To open the door to a possible modification of the pool of eligible voters through the introduction of tens of thousands of new voters cannot but satisfy the party to the conflict which is advocating a confirmatory referendum", the letter added.

In other action, the General Assembly, in resolution 50/36 of 6 December, reiterated its support for a free, fair and impartial referendum in conformity with the Settlement Plan. The Assembly also expressed concern at the insufficient progress made towards the fulfilment of the Plan and expressed the hope that direct talks between the two parties would soon resume.