Western Sahara.

The Security Council on 17 April extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 20 July, in order that the Mission might proceed with its identification tasks, with the aim of completing the process. By its unanimous adoption of resolution 1163 (1998), the Council also called upon the parties - the Government of Morocco and the Frente Popular para la Liberacion de Saguia el-Hamra y del Rio de Oro (POLISARIO) - to cooperate constructively with the United Nations, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the Identification Commission in order to complete the voters identification phase of the Settlement Plan and the agreements reached for its implementation. By the 1988 Settlement Plan concluded between the Moroccan Government and POLISARIO, a UN-organized referendum would allow the people of Western Sahara to decide between independence for the territory or integration with Morocco.

In its resolution, the Council expressed again its intention to consider positively the request for the remaining additional military and police assets for MINURSO, as soon as the Secretary-General reported that the identification process had reached a stage making the deployment of those assets essential.

The Council had considered a report of the Secretary-General, dated 13 April, which covered developments in Western Sahara since his 19 February letter to the Council President. The report included the continuing efforts of the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Charles Dunbar, and his Personal Envoy, James Baker III, to move the peace process forward.

In his report, the Secretary-General stated that it was unlikely that the goal of completing the identification process for the referendum for self-determination in Western Sahara by 31 May 1998 could be achieved. The delay had been due to the slowdown in identification activities in February and March, and to the lack of progress in resolving issues linked to the identification of applicants from three tribal groups - H41, H61 and J51/52. In addition, the climate of mutual mistrust between the parties had not been conducive to expediting and facilitating MINURSO's task. He expressed concern that the current tensions might increase as completion of the identification process approaches.

The Secretary-General also stated that it should be possible, taking into account the delay that had occurred, to complete the identification of all applicants from the "non-contested" tribes by the end of July 1998, provided that both parties cooperate fully. However, he asserted that until the outstanding issues concerning applicants from the three "contested" tribal groups were resolved, and since it was not known for certain how many of the applicants might present themselves, it was not possible at this stage to specify the time required for completion of the identification process.

The Secretary-General reported that the total number of persons identified so far was 101,772. Fewer than 60,000 remained to be convoked and the issue of about 65,000 applicants from the three tribal groups remained to be fully resolved.

Mr. Annan indicated that he would submit to the Security Council recommendations for a revised timetable for the full implementation of the Settlement Plan, including preparatory measures for the establishment of the Referendum Commission if, by the end of June, sufficient progress had been made in the identification process and in the search for solutions to the contentious issue of the tribal groups.

On the other hand, he informed the Council that he would recommend that it reconsider the viability of MINURSO's mandate if no solution has been found to the problem of the three "contested" groups and if a large number of applicants from the "non-contested" tribes also remained to be identified. In the meantime, he recommended that the mandate, which had previously been extended to 20 April, be further extended for a period of three months, until 20 July.