Western Sahara
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The Group of Friends of Western Sahara (France, Russia, Spain, the UK and the US) are discussing the report of the Secretary-General on the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and the unveiling last week by Morocco and the Polisario Front of their respective proposals for a solution for Western Sahara.
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The mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) expires on 31 April. The Council is expected to renew it for six months and to discuss the report of the Secretary-General on MINURSO, which is due mid-April. The Council might also discuss a Moroccan plan for extended autonomy to Western Sahara.
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The Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which expires on 31 October. Referred to in the Secretary-General's report of 19 April (S/2006/249), the recommendations of the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy to Western Sahara, Peter van Walsum, on a political solution are still on the table and may be reiterated in the upcoming report. However, given the other pressures on the Council's time at present, major new developments seem unlikely.
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The adoption by the Council, on 28 April, of a simple "technical rollover" (S/RES/1675) continuing the mandate for MINURSO could be read, at face value, as a reiteration of the status quo and a retreat from the Secretary-General's recommendations and from the approach of his Personal Envoy, Peter van Walsum.
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The Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), due to expire on 30 April, for an additional six months.
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In January, the Council will be briefed by the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy to Western Sahara, Peter van Walsum, as requested in Security Council resolution 1634 (28 October 2005), which also extended the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 April 2006.
