SECURITY COUNCIL WELCOMES SECRETARY-GENERAL'S EFFORTS TO RESOLVE OBSTACLES TO WESTERN SAHARA REFERENDUM
Press Release
SC/6147
SECURITY COUNCIL WELCOMES SECRETARY-GENERAL'S EFFORTS TO RESOLVE OBSTACLES TO WESTERN SAHARA REFERENDUM
19951219 Requests Urgent Report on Consultations with Parties; Lacking Agreement, Withdrawal of UN Mission to be ConsideredThe Security Council this evening welcomed the Secretary-General's decision 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.
Unanimously adopting resolution 1033 (1955), the Council requested the Secretary-General to report on the results of those consultations on an urgent basis. In the event that the consultations failed to produce agreement, the Secretary-General 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 as a framework to accelerate and complete the identification process in Western Sahara. Further, the Council called on the two parties to cooperate with the Secretary-General and MINURSO to implement all the other aspects of the Settlement Plan in accordance with the relevant resolutions.
The meeting, which began at 6:11 p.m., was adjourned at 6:13 p.m.
The full text of the resolution, to be released as Council resolution 1033, reads as follows:
"The Security Council,
"Reaffirming all its previous resolutions on the question of Western Sahara,
"Recalling the letter of the Secretary-General of 27 October 1995 (S/1995/924) and the reply of the President of the Security Council of 6 November 1995 (S/1995/925),
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"Recalling the reports of the Secretary-General of 18 June 1990 (S/12360), 19 April 1991 (S/22464), 19 December 1991 (S/23299) and 28 July 1993 (S/26185),
"Having considered the report of the Secretary-General of 24 November 1995 (S/1995/986),
"Noting the response of the Government of Morocco to the proposal of the Secretary-General, described in paragraph 10 of his report,
"Noting also the response of the Polisario Front to the proposal of the Secretary-General, described in paragraph 11 of his report,
"Noting further other communications received by the Council on this subject,
"Stressing that the Identification Commission will be able to carry out its work only if both parties place their trust in its judgement and integrity,
"Stressing also the need for progress to be made on all other aspects of the Settlement Plan,
"Committed to reaching a just and lasting solution to the question of Western Sahara,
"Reiterating the fact that, for progress to be achieved, the two parties must have a vision of the post-referendum period,
"1. Reiterates its commitment to the holding, without further delay, of a free, fair and impartial referendum for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in accordance with the Settlement Plan, which has been accepted by the two parties referred to above;
"2. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General of 24 November 1995 as a useful framework for his ongoing efforts aimed at accelerating and completing the identification process;
"3. Welcomes further the decision of the Secretary-General to intensify his consultations with the two parties in order to obtain their agreement to a plan to resolve differences hindering the timely completion of the identification process;
"4. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council on the results of those consultations on an urgent basis and, in the event those consultations fail to reach agreement, 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);
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"5. Calls upon the two parties to work with the Secretary-General and MINURSO in a spirit of genuine cooperation to implement all the other aspects of the Settlement Plan, in accordance with the relevant resolutions;
"6. Decides to remain seized of the matter."
Documents Before Council
When the Security Council met this afternoon to consider the question of Western Sahara, it had before it the Secretary-General's report (document S/1995/986), which responds to a Council request contained in resolution 1017 (1995) of 22 September to produce specific and detailed proposals to resolve the problems in identifying persons qualified to vote in a referendum on Western Sahara.
The Settlement Plan for Western Sahara, which was accepted by the two parties on 30 August 1988 and approved by the Council on 27 June 1990 in its resolution 658 (1990), entails 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.
Although the referendum was originally scheduled for January 1992, the parties diverge on some elements of the plan, including the question of criteria for eligibility to vote in the referendum. The Plan provides for the lodging of appeals against the inclusion or exclusion of any names in the list of eligible voters. The identification and registration operation has proved to be more complex than was expected, as members of the same tribal subgroups, who must be identified individually with the assistance of their respective sheikhs, were dispersed in different locations and means of communication were limited. The Identification Commission for the Referendum in Western Sahara was established in 1993 to facilitate the process of identification and registration.
The Secretary-General in his report states that the identification will continue as before in the case of 85 out of 88 tribal subgroups which are listed in the census of 1974 and for which a list of sheikhs and alternates has already been established.
In the case of the three remaining census groups, and in those instances where identification takes place outside the Territory and the Tindouf area, he proposes that the Government of Morocco and the POLISARIO be invited to present a sheikh, or alternate of the subgroup concerned to assist in the identification process. An observer of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) is also expected to attend. The absence of a sheikh, representative or observer, for whatever reason, will not prevent identification from proceeding after the schedule for identification has been communicated to the parties, the convocation lists have been issued and the hours of work announced. If
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neither party makes available a sheikh or alternate, identification will be based on appropriate documentation.
In all cases, according to the report, there will be no change in the procedure already established, which reflects the relevant provisions of the Settlement Plan and the compromise proposal with respect to oral testimony and documentary evidence.
The Secretary-General states that it will be up to the Identification Commission to determine the validity of the oral testimony and of the documentary evidence and to decide on the merits of each applicant to be included in the electoral roll. The Commission will be able to carry out its work only if both parties place their trust in its judgement and integrity.
The Secretary-General warns that neither party is likely to be satisfied with his proposal. Morocco wants to limit the role of documentary evidence and give privilege to that of oral testimony. The POLISARIO considers that the proposed new approach will allow for the introduction of applicants who have no ties to Western Sahara. The Secretary-General, however, concludes that the new approach is the only way the process can be carried forward. Should the identification operation fail to proceed with the necessary speed, it is the intention of the Secretary-General to present for the consideration of the Council, alternative options, including the possibility of the withdrawal of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
In a letter to the President of the Council (document S/1995/924) on 27 October, the Secretary-General informed the Council of decisions taken to accelerate identification. To that date, procedures required that identification take place only in the presence of a representative of each of the parties, a sheikh nominated by each party and an observer of the OAU. In many cases identification has had to be suspended, or had not started, because of the absence of one or more of those persons.
The Secretary-General explains that to that point identification had taken place in the Territory and in the camps near Tindouf and in the Tindouf area. Some work remained to be done in those areas, but most of the other applicants were resident in Morocco and Mauritania. A comprehensive effort would be launched in all those areas. In the case of the 85 tribal subgroups for which the list of sheikhs and alternates had already been established, the previous practice would be followed at identification centres inside the Territory and in the camps, with the following exception. If a party representative, a sheikh and/or the OAU observer was absent, identification would nevertheless proceed provided the schedule for identification had been duly communicated to the parties, the convocation lists had been issued and the hours of work had been announced.
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In the case of three other tribal groupings and in the case of all identification which took place outside the Territory and the camps, the procedure would be modified, the letter said. In those areas also, identification would proceed even if a party representative, a sheikh and/or the OAU observer was absent. While the sheikh who was present would be able to assist in identifying the applicant, the latter's claim for inclusion in the electoral role would be evaluated on the basis of documentary evidence: a birth certificate issued by the competent authorities in the country of the applicant's birth to substantiate that he or she is the child of a father born in the Territory or has 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.
The Secretary-General states that both parties and the OAU had been informed of those decisions.
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