United Nations Security Council resolution 1301, adopted on 31 May 2000, after recalling all previous resolutions on the question of the

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...

, in particular resolutions 1108 (1997) and 1292 (2000), the Council extended the mandate of the

United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara ( ar, بعثة الأمم المتحدة لتنظيم استفتاء في الصحراء الغربية; french: Mission des Nations Unies pour l'Organisation d'un Référendum au ...

(MINURSO) until 31 July 2000. The resolution began by welcoming efforts to sensitise United Nations personnel in

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

operations in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The Council supported efforts by MINURSO to implement the

Settlement Plan The Settlement Plan was an agreement between the ethnically Saharawi Polisario Front and Morocco on the organization of a referendum, which would constitute an expression of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, leading either to ...

and agreements to hold a free and fair

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

for the people of Western Sahara. Fundamental differences between

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and the

Polisario Front The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro), (in ar, rtl=yes, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الس� ...

had yet to be resolved. MINURSO's mandate was extended on the condition that both parties would submit proposals to be agreed upon in order to resolve problems relating to the implementation of the settlement plan and an overall durable solution concerning the political status of Western Sahara. The Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...

was requested to provide an assessment of the situation before 31 July 2000. Resolution 1301, sponsored by France, Russia, the United Kingdom and United States, was adopted by 12 votes in favour and one against (

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

) and two

abstention Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote (on election day) or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with ...

s from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

. Explaining their votes, the representative of Namibia said it could not support a departure from the provisions of the Settlement Plan and the inalienable right of the people to self-determination and

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, though it would support MINURSO's extension; the Jamaican representative stated that the resolution should have merely been technical as the referendum would not take place any time soon which the council had not addressed, and political considerations and other alternative proposals should have been left to a later resolution; and the representative of Mali supported the Settlement Plan and agreed that the referendum would not take place soon, but preferred the adoption of a

Presidential Statement A Presidential Statement is often created when the United Nations Security Council cannot reach consensus or are prevented from passing a resolution by a permanent member's veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. I ...

commending the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy.

References

External links

*
Text of the Resolution at undocs.org
{{UNSCR 2000 1301 2000 in Morocco 1301 1301 May 2000 events

See also

References

External links