International resolution
MINURSO and the settlement plan, 1991
The Security Council created a mission to organise a self-determination referendum; a ceasefire took effect, but the referendum was never held.
What happened
After Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO accepted UN–OAU settlement proposals in 1988, the Security Council unanimously established MINURSO to organise and supervise a self-determination referendum.[1][2] The vote, due in January 1992, has never taken place; identification of voters was suspended in 1996.[3] The ceasefire generally held from September 1991 until November 2020.[4]
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO accepted UN–OAU settlement proposals on 30 August 1988.
- United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, MINURSO: Background (United Nations) link, para. 3. Source record
- United Nations Security Council, Security Council resolution 690 (1991) (United Nations, 29 April 1991) link, preamble. Source record
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2.
Claim: On 29 April 1991 the Security Council unanimously established the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to organise and supervise, with the OAU, a referendum for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
- United Nations Security Council, Security Council resolution 690 (1991) (United Nations, 29 April 1991) link, paras. 2 and 4. Source record
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3.
Claim: The referendum was due in January 1992 but, because of fundamental disagreements between the parties, it has never been held; voter identification began in 1994, was suspended in 1996, and the Identification Commission formally ended its work in 2004.
- United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, MINURSO: Background (United Nations) link, paras. 4–5. Source record
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4.
Claim: The ceasefire generally held from MINURSO’s deployment in September 1991 until November 2020, when the Frente POLISARIO announced its withdrawal from it and said it was resuming armed struggle.
- United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, MINURSO: Background (United Nations) link, para. 8. Source record