1. Home
  2. Africa
  3. West Africa

UN Secretary-General recommends extended MINURSO mandate

[Gambia] Gambian President - Yahya Jammeh. UN DPI
Yahya Jammeh a limogé deux responsables militaires, dont le chef d'Etat-major à ses côtés depuis dix ans
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended a one-month extension of the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to 30 April. MINURSO’s mandate includes monitoring a ceasefire and identifying and registering qualified voters for a referendum that will decide whether Western Sahara should gain full independence or become part of Morocco. In his latest report on the former Spanish colony, the Secretary-General said Morocco had indicated its acceptance, in principle, of a UN-proposed package designed to accelerate the referendum process. This was on the understanding that certain amendments would be incorporated in protocols related to voter identification and appeals, and that the UN Mission would provide the parties with operational directives and a revised timetable. Morocco asked that the modalities for organizing the identification and appeals be consistent with the objective of holding the referendum by March 2000. According to the report, the UN Mission expects to provide the parties with revised texts at the end of March. The UN Secretary-General has designated Robin Kinloch, chairman of the Identification Commission, as Acting Special Representative in Western Sahara. The former head of the UN Mission, Charles F. Dunbar, announced that he would resign when his contract expired at the end of March.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

Share this article

Get the day’s top headlines in your inbox every morning

Starting at just $5 a month, you can become a member of The New Humanitarian and receive our premium newsletter, DAWNS Digest.

DAWNS Digest has been the trusted essential morning read for global aid and foreign policy professionals for more than 10 years.

Government, media, global governance organisations, NGOs, academics, and more subscribe to DAWNS to receive the day’s top global headlines of news and analysis in their inboxes every weekday morning.

It’s the perfect way to start your day.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian today and you’ll automatically be subscribed to DAWNS Digest – free of charge.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join