Annan proposes two-month MINURSO extension

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has asked for a two-month extension of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), UN News said. It said the advice was contained in a new report that went to the Security Council on Tuesday. The report covers a visit Annan’s Personal Envoy, James Baker III, paid to the region in April, and face-to-face talks in London on 14 May. Although the London meeting marked the first time Morocco and the Polisario Front had met in direct talks for a “frank exchange” of views since 1997, “the meeting was inconclusive”, Annan’s report said. The meeting was also attended by observer delegations from Algeria and Mauritania. Baker has asked the parties to bring specific solutions that they could agree to at another meeting planned for June. The Security Council established MINURSO in 1991, following an agreement between Morocco and Polisario, to monitor the ceasefire and conduct a referendum that would allow the people of Western Sahara to decide the future status of the territory. Both parties are deadlocked on aspects of the referendum, especially the issue of the eligibility of voters and the related appeals process.