"I recommended that the Security Council reiterates its call upon the parties, Morocco and the Frente Polisario, to enter into genuine negotiations, thus ensuring a more substantial implementation of its resolution 1754 (2007)," Mr. Ban said in the report.

    The Secretary General voiced satisfaction with the launch of the process of UN-brokered negotiations. The two parties held two rounds of talks in June and August 2007 with Algeria and Mauritania attending as observers, in accordance with the United Nations resolution 1754 which called on the parties to enter into negotiations "in good faith and without preconditions." The two parties agreed to hold a third round, but no date and venue have been set yet.

     Mr. Ban also called upon the Security Council to extend the mandate of the United Nations mission in the Sahara (MINURSO) for a further period of six months, until 30 April 2008.

    The UN Security Council is due to hold discussions on the Sahara dispute on Friday (October 26), and on October 31 to adopt a resolution on the issue.

    The dispute over the former Spanish colony dates back to 1976, a year after the North African country retrieved the Sahara under the Madrid Accords. The Algerian-backed separatist movement Polisario Front claims the independence of the territory.

    Morocco has proposed substantial autonomy to the Sahara region in a bid to solve the long-standing conflict. The initiative was widely welcomed as “serious” and “credible.”

 Source :MAP
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