Derek McDowell
Question:79 Mr. McDowell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the position of the conflict between the Moroccan Government and the Sahara Arabic Democratic Government. [12912/01]
Written Answers - Foreign Conflicts.
A UN supervised ceasefire has been in effect in Western Sahara since 1991. This followed the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 690 which established a special UN mission, MINURSO, to organise a referendum to decide the area's future. There has been little progress in the holding of this referendum due to ongoing disputes between the parties concerning the registration process.
The mandate of MINURSO was extended by the UN Security Council for a further two months on 30 April.
When the mandate was last renewed, on 27 February 2001, the two-month extension was intended to give Morocco further time to come forward with a proposal for substantial autonomy as a basis for negotiations towards a political solution and to break the impasse on the implementation of the UN settlement plan.
The Secretary General, in his report of 25 April, stated that "substantial progress has been made toward determining whether (Morocco) is prepared to offer or support some devolution of authority that is genuine, substantial and in keeping with international norms." The Special Representative of the Secretary General, Mr. James Baker, is to hold discussions with the parties to the conflict to see if these proposals can serve as a basis for progress.
Following the renewal of the MINURSO mandate, the President of the Security Council issued a statement to the press expressing the concern of the Council that there has been no further progress in the release of prisoners of war.
The Government continues to support the UN settlement plan and the holding of the referendum. However, we realise that the advancement of the settlement plan is proving extremely difficult. In our view, for any alternative proposal to be acceptable to the Security Council, it must take due account of the legitimate concerns of both sides.
The compelling humanitarian case for the release of all prisoners of war has been clearly made. The Government believe that further progress on this issue should not be dependent on the outcome of the wider political negotiations. In our view, progress on this issue would be an important gesture of good faith in the efforts to find a settlement.
It is vital that all parties to the conflict respect the ceasefire agreement, co-operate fully with the UN mission and avoid provocative action.