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POLISARIO set to accept new peace plan for Western Sahara - Security Council

11 July – The President of the United Nations Security Council today announced measured progress in efforts to help resolve the situation in Western Sahara now that one of the main parties has said it will accept the most recent settlement option recommended by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

In a statement to the press following closed-door consultations, Council President, Ambassador Inocencio F. Arias of Spain, said he informed the 15-nation body that he met yesterday with a delegation from the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y del Río de Oro (POLISARIO Front), who told him of their decision to accept the peace plan developed by the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy James Baker. But he added that Morocco still had not agreed to the plan.

Mr. Annan has recommended that the Council endorse the proposed peace plan - which combines elements of the draft framework agreement and agreed elements of the settlement plan. Representing something of a compromise, it provides each side some, but not all, of what it wants, Mr. Annan said. It envisages a period of transition during which there would be a division of responsibilities between the parties before the holding of a referendum for self-determination within four to five years. And unlike the settlement plan, the new peace plan does not require the consent of both parties at each and every step of its implementation.

Today, Ambassador Arias said that during the consultations, the United States had presented a draft resolution for the Council's consideration. The text would have the Council endorse Mr. Baker's plan and urge the parties to implement its as well as the recommendations in the Secretary-General's latest report. The Council planned to discuss the draft and the overall situation with its experts on Western Sahara next Wednesday.

While he believed the Council was moving toward "seriously taking a decision," on the matter, Ambassador Arias cautioned in his national capacity that it would be a poor move to try and impose a decision on the parties, particularly since one - Morocco - still did not agree with the new plan. Diplomatic efforts were underway to make all the parties see that the plan was well-balanced, and if implemented in a serious way, would give a good opportunity for all the inhabitants in the territory to have a say in their future.

Ambassador John Negroponte of the United States said the resolution strongly supported Mr. Baker's proposal, which "provides an excellent opportunity to bring this longstanding issue to a resolution." He did not believe that a Council endorsement of the plan would represent an imposition of any kind. "It would send an important signal that the Council sees it as the best way to move the issue toward resolution," he said.