ASSEMBLY ASKED TO ENCOURAGE RESUMPTION OF DIRECT TALKS TO SPEED PEACE PROCESS IN WESTERN SAHARA

Press Release
GA/SPD/89

ASSEMBLY ASKED TO ENCOURAGE RESUMPTION OF DIRECT TALKS TO SPEED PEACE PROCESS IN WESTERN SAHARA

Committee Expresses Concern Over Obstacles to Settlement; Also Approves Texts on Gibraltor New Caledonia, Tokelau, Information Questions

The General Assembly would encourage the resumption of direct talks between Morocco and the Frente Popular para la Liberacion de Saguia el-Hamra y de Rio de Oro (POLISARIO) to relaunch the peace process in Western Sahara, by the terms of an orally-revised draft resolution approved without a vote by the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) this afternoon.

The Assembly would also express serious concern about obstacles to the settlement plan, and reaffirm the Organization's responsibility to the people of Western Sahara, as well as its commitment to a free, fair and impartial referendum for self-determination. The text stresses the importance of the cease-fire as an integral part of the settlement plan.

In introducing the draft and oral amendments, the representative of the United Republic of Tanzania said the international community should persist in the decolonization of Western Sahara and make it possible for the Saharawi people to exercise their right to self-determination. The representative of Morocco said the question of Sahara could be dealt with only in the context of his country's territory. It was not a matter of decolonization. The representatives of Angola and Ireland (on behalf of other countries) also made statements.

By another text approved by the Committee this afternoon, the Assembly would request administering Powers to transmit to the Secretary-General information on the Non-Self-Governing Territories in accordance with Article 73 e of the Charter. The draft was approved by a vote of 130 in favour to none against, with four abstentions (France, Marshall Islands, United Kingdom and the United States).

By the terms of a draft decision approved without a vote, the Assembly would urge the Governments of Spain and the United Kingdom to continue negotiations on the problem of Gibraltar.

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Under a further draft resolution approved without a vote, all parties would be urged to promote a framework for the peaceful progress of New Caledonia towards self-determination. The representative of France said it was determined to continue to build New Caledonia into a prosperous Territory so that the people there would exercise their right to self-determination in 1998 in the best possible conditions.

Acting again without a vote, the Committee approved a draft resolution on Tokelau that would welcome the assurances of the Government of New Zealand that it would meet its obligations and abide by the freely expressed wishes of the people on the future status of that Territory. The representative of New Zealand reaffirmed the commitment of his country to the people of Tokelau and the development of the Territory.

The Committee also approved a draft resolution on offers by Member States of study and training facilities for inhabitants of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

The Fourth Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 5 November, to begin consideration of agenda item 87 -- questions relating to information.

Committee Work Programme

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met this afternoon and was expected to take action on a series of draft resolutions and one draft decision.

The Committee had before it texts contained in the report of the Special Committee on Decolonization (document A/51/23, Parts IV, V and VII) concerning information from Non-Self-Governing Territories; the question of New Caledonia; and the question of Tokelau. Also before the Committee were draft resolutions submitted by Member States concerning offers by Member States of study and training facilities for inhabitants of Non-Self-Governing Territories; and, under implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, proposals on the question of Western Sahara, and on the question of Gibraltar.

The draft resolution on information from Non-Self-Governing Territories (document A/51/23 (Part IV); chapter VIII, para. 8; agenda item 88) would have the Assembly request that the administering Powers transmit to the Secretary- General information under Article 73 e of the United Nations Charter with regard to each Territory. The Special Committee would be requested to continue to discharge its functions and to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-second session.

By the terms of the 15-Power draft resolution on offers by Member States of study and training facilities for inhabitants of Non-Self-Governing Territories (document A/C.4/51/L.6; agenda item 91), the Assembly would invite all States to make or continue making offers of study and training facilities, and funds for related travel, to inhabitants of the Territories. It would urge administering Powers to ensure widespread and continuous dissemination in the Territories of information relating to offers of study and training facilities.

Also by the text, the Secretary-General would be requested to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-second session on implementation of the resolution.

The draft is sponsored by Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, China, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Iran, Mali, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Republic of Tanzania.

By the preambular text of a 52-Power draft resolution on the question of Western Sahara (document A/C.4/51/L.4; agenda item 19a), the General Assembly would stress the importance it attaches to the maintenance of the cease-fire as an integral part of the settlement plan for Western Sahara.

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By the text of the draft, the Assembly would take note of Security Council resolution 1056 (1996) of 29 May 1996, by which the Council decided to suspend the identification process and to reduce the military component of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), owing to the absence of progress in the implementation of the settlement plan.

Also by a preambular text of the draft, the Assembly would express its serious concern about the risks that this impasse has on the implementation process of the settlement plan for the holding of a free, fair and impartial referendum for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, and on the peace and stability of the region, approved by the Security Council in resolutions 658 (1990) and 690 (1991).

By the text of the draft, the Assembly would reiterate its support for further efforts by the Secretary-General for the United Nations organization and supervision, in cooperation with the Organization of African Unity (OAU), of a referendum for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, in conformity with the settlement plan.

The Assembly would reaffirm that the goal on which all were agreed consists of the holding of a free, fair and impartial referendum for the people of Western Sahara, organized and conducted by the United Nations in cooperation with the OAU, and without any military or administrative constraints, in conformity with the settlement plan.

It would further express its serious concern about the persistence of obstacles to the implementation of the settlement plan, and would reaffirm the responsibility of the United Nations towards the people of Western Sahara, as provided for in the settlement plan, and would fully subscribe to the commitment of the Security Council and the Secretary-General concerning the free, fair and impartial referendum for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

The Assembly would further declare its conviction of the importance and usefulness of direct contacts between the two parties with a view to overcoming their differences and creating propitious conditions for a speedy and effective implementation of the settlement plan. It would encourage Morocco and the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguia el-Hamra y de Río de Oro (POLISARIO) to start, as soon as possible, direct talks for the relaunching of the peace process.

The Assembly would also request the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples to continue to consider the situation in Western Sahara, bearing in mind the ongoing referendum process, and to report thereon to the fifty-second session of the Assembly. The

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Secretary-General would be invited to submit a report to the fifty-second session of the Assembly on the implementation of the present resolution.

The draft resolution is sponsored by Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Suriname, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

By the terms of a draft decision on the question of Gibraltar (document A/C.4/51/L.5; agenda item 19b), the Governments of Spain and the United Kingdom would be urged by the Assembly to continue their negotiations with the object of reaching a definitive solution to the problem of Gibraltar in light of relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and in the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations. The negotiating process would be aimed at promoting cooperation on a mutually beneficial basis of economic, cultural, touristic, aviation, military and environmental matters.

By the text of a draft resolution on the question of New Caledonia (document A/51/23 (Part V), chapter IX, para. 32; agenda item 19c), the Assembly would urge all the parties involved to maintain their dialogue in the spirit of harmony and to promote a framework for the peaceful progress of New Caledonia towards self-determination.

By the text of the draft resolution on the question of Tokelau (document A/51/23 (Part VII), chapter XI, para. 11; agenda item 19d), the Assembly would welcome the assurances of the Government of New Zealand that it would meet its obligations with respect to the Territory and abide by the freely expressed wishes of the people on their future status.

Action on Draft Resolutions and Draft Decision

The Committee first turned to the draft resolution on information from Non-Self-Governing Territories.

The text was approved by a recorded vote of 130 in favour to none against, with four abstentions (France, Marshall Islands, United Kingdom and the United States). (For details of voting, see Annex.)

PAUL ARKWRIGHT (United Kingdom), in explanation of vote, said he had abstained on the vote as in previous years. His country would continue to comply with its obligation in respect of the dependent Territories, under

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Article 73 e of the Charter. However, he did not agree with operative paragraph 2 of the draft resolution before the Committee, which said it was for the General Assembly to decide when a Non-Self-Governing Territory had reached a level of self-government sufficient to relieve the administering Power of its obligation to submit information. Such decisions should be left to the government of the Territory concerned and the administering Power, he said.

The Committee then turned to the draft resolution on offers by Member States of study and training facilities for inhabitants of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Jamaica, Australia and Sweden were added as co-sponsors of the draft resolution, which was approved without a vote.

Statement by Committee Secretary

The Secretary of the Committee, ABDUR RAZZAQUE KHAN, made a statement regarding the programme budget implications on some of the proposals. He said that with respect to operative paragraphs 2 and 5 of the draft on the question of Western Sahara, there were no financial implications for the regular budget of maintaining the remaining deployment and staffing of MINURSO.

With respect to operative paragraph 9 of the same draft resolution, no regular budget financial implications would arise should the General Assembly adopt the draft.

He said the Secretary-General had reviewed the recommendations by the Special Committee concerning the question of New Caledonia, as contained in paragraph 32 of document A/51/23 (Part V), chapter IX; of American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guam, Montserrat, Pitcairn, St. Helena, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States Virgin Islands, as contained in paragraph 17 of document A/51/23 (Part VI), chapter X; and of Tokelau, as contained in paragraph 11 of document A/51/23 (Part VII), chapter XI. For the implementation of those recommendations additional budgetary provisions were not contemplated.

TIMOTHY M. BANDORA (United Republic of Tanzania) introduced the draft resolution relating to the question of Western Sahara (document A/C.4/51/L.4). He said that Ecuador, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Botswana, Haiti and Sierra Leone had joined as co-sponsors of the draft.

He proposed the following amendments to the text:

-- the third preambular paragraph, to read as follows: "Recalling with satisfaction the entry into force of the cease-fire in Western Sahara on 6 September 1991 in accordance with the proposal of the Secretary-General and

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stressing the importance of the cease-fire as an integral part of the settlement plan,";

-- substantive paragraphs 7 and 8 would be merged to read as follows: "Declares its conviction of the importance and usefulness of direct contacts between the two parties in view of overcoming the differences and creating propitious conditions for a speedy and effective implementation of the settlement plan and encourages in this regard the Kingdom of Morocco and POLISARIO to start as soon as possible, direct talks;".

He said the resolution underlined the responsibility of the international community to persist in the decolonization of Western Sahara, and would make it possible for the Saharawi people to exercise their right to self-determination. Noting the views put forth in the Committee's general debate on the matter, the draft expressed support for the Saharawi people's exercise of their right to self-determination.

It had been clear to all the co-sponsors that despite different concerns, all were united in desiring that the people of Western Sahara be allowed the opportunity to exercise their right to self-determination and contribute to peace and security of the region. He recommended the draft resolution as amended for unanimous approval of the Committee.

JERONIMO DE ALMEIDA (Angola) said that according to the Declaration on decolonization of 1960, all peoples had the right to exercise self- determination. He expressed concern over the lack of progress on the issue of Western Sahara, and encouraged the POLISARIO and the Government of Morocco to continue working with the OAU and the United Nations to find a lasting and just solution to the problem.

AHMED SNOUSSI (Morocco) expressed his thanks to all who had taken action to see that the voice of reason had prevailed. That should guide the actions of the Organization in finding a lasting and just solution to the problem. The King of Morocco intended to state that his country could not be bound to the resolution as if this were regarded as a question of decolonization; Morocco believed the question could be dealt with only in the context of his country's territory; Western Sahara was part of the territory of his country. It had been transferred from Spain in accordance with the Madrid Accord and registered with the United Nations. That was why a referendum had been proposed, and he believed the referendum would confirm the people living there were Moroccan. It was not a decolonization matter.

He said Morocco had always acted so that the referendum would occur without any discrimination; that referendum had been blocked for over a year by the other party, which had decided to suspend its participation in the identification process, acting de facto to veto the plan of the Security Council. The Secretary-General, acting under mandate of the Security Council,

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was the only one authorized to implement the settlement plan. Under the plan, the parties had the right to participate as observers.

He said Morocco deplored the United Nations lack of decisiveness, which had allowed one party "to take it hostage". It had called into question the settlement. The "other party" should be asked to honour the settlement plan. He would be satisfied if the Committee had tackled the truth of the Sahara. It was a matter of self-determination, which his country had always supported. The United Nations and the Security Council had defined the procedure. Each year the residents of the camps had appealed for support; they had waited for the referendum to take place. It was needed, and its delay had compounded the suffering of the people.

He said he was saddened that some countries had sought to block this action. More than 140 nations would have preferred a presidential statement. It would have had more force. The international community should send a message to the other party to honour its commitments by accepting the settlement plan.

NIALL HOLOHAN (Ireland), for the European Union and for Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, expressed concern that the registration process for the referendum as provided for in the settlement plan had come to a halt over the past 12 months. He continued to support efforts aimed at the holding of a free, fair and impartial referendum for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in accordance with the plan, as agreed between the two parties to the dispute and approved by the Security Council.

He said both parties should explore ways of reinvigorating the peace process and have a vision of the post-referendum period as recommended by the Security Council. He also encouraged negotiations between the parties so that an agreed settlement could be achieved. He stressed the importance of maintaining the cease-fire and encouraged the parties to engage in confidence- building measures such as the exchange of prisoners. The Union would continue to support the Secretary-General and his Acting Special Representative.

The Committee then turned to the draft resolution on Gibraltar, and approved the text without a vote.

It then took up the draft on New Caledonia.

HERVE LADSOUS (France) said that for eight years New Caledonia had experienced a political, social and economic transformation. This process had begun with the signing of the Matignon Accords of 1988, the implementation of which was monitored yearly.

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In 1998, the people of New Caledonia would exercise their right to self- determination. The Government of France was determined to continue to build New Caledonia into a prosperous Territory so that the people there would exercise their right in the best possible condition. There had been encouraging advances in many areas. Administrative responsibilities were being taken over by the Territory; economic and social activities which encouraged well-balanced development and created employment were being enhanced. New Caledonia was becoming a full-fledged partner in the region.

He said he was gratified that the Territory's positive evolution had been noted in the draft resolution, but expressed reservations over the competence of the United Nations to be seized on the issue of New Caledonia. The Charter had left it up to the States concerned to decide whether or not a Territory fell under the category of Non-Self-Governing Territory.

The draft resolution on New Caledonia was approved without a vote.

The Committee then turned to the draft resolution on Tokelau, which was approved without a vote.

Speaking after the vote, MICHAEL JOHN POWLES (New Zealand) commended the Committee on its action. He said his Government would convey that information to the people of Tokelau. He reaffirmed the commitment of his country to the people of Tokelau and the development of the Territory.

(Annex follows)

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ANNEX

Vote on Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories

The draft resolution on information from Non-Self-Governing Territories (document A/51/23 (Part IV), chapter VIII, para. 8) was approved by a recorded vote of 130 in favour to none against, with four abstentions, as follows:

In favour: Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Against: None.

Abstaining: France, Marshall Islands, United Kingdom, United States.

Absent: Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Croatia, Djibouti, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Federated States of Micronesia, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Iceland, Iraq, Kyrgyztan, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Malta, Monaco, Pakistan, Palau, Paraguay, Republic of Moldova, Rwanda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, San Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire.

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