In April, Security Council members are expected to receive a briefing in closed consultations on the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The Special Representative for Sahara and Head of MINURSO, Alexander Ivanko, and the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura, are the anticipated briefers. For the first time, this kind the briefings will be held in prensence of Algeria which is now a non-permanent member. It’s mandate will end in 2025.
According to a report of the United Nations, a key issue for Council members to consider is how to bring all parties to the negotiating table and reinvigorate the political process. At the same time, managing the competing interests of the relevant stakeholders is also a paramount issue. Resolution 2703 called on all parties to resume negotiations with a view to “achieving a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Sahara”. Houwever, Algeria refuse to participate in round tables that Staffan de Mistura want to relaunch.
Significant obstacles remain in the peace process. The Polisario Front announced in November 2020 that it would no longer respect the ceasefire agreement it signed with Morocco in 1991, which has led to a significant rise in hostilities over the last few years.
An important issue, which is described in the Secretary-General’s 3 October 2023 MINURSO report, is the constraints on MINURSO’s logistical supply and maintenance of team sites east of the berm, which purportedly have serious consequences for the mission’s ability to sustain its field presences in the difficult conditions of the region.
As a reminder, on 30 October 2023, the Security Council adopted resolution 2703, renewing the mandate of MINURSO for another year until 31 October, with 13 votes in favour and two abstentions (Mozambique and Russia). The resolution introduced new language that welcomed the convening by de Mistura of informal consultations with Morocco, the Polisario Front (the entity representing the inhabitants of the Western Sahara region, known as Sahrawis), Algeria, and Mauritania, as well as with members of the Group of Friends of Sahara—France, Russia, Spain, the UK, and the US—from 27 to 31 March 2023 in New York.