UN Envoy visits Africa, seeking progress

UNITED NATIONS - The UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Christopher Ross, is in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on Monday as part of his visit of Northern Africa and Europe, a UN spokesman told reporters.

The UN envoy is visiting the region, hoping to facilitate progress in resolving the final status of the long-disputed, Western Sahara territory, said Martin Nesirky, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, at a daily briefing.

According to Nesirky, the purpose of Ross' visit is to join in assessing the past five years of direct negotiations, to solicit ideas on the best way to make real progress in the negotiating process, and finally to review the impact of recent developments in the region on the Western Sahara dossier.

Western Sahara is bordered by Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco, whose people have yet to decide between independence from Morocco or assimilation with the country.

The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) monitors a 1991 ceasefire between Morocco and the Saharawi liberation movement, the Polisario Front.

Though the ceasefire has generally held, a transitional period has not yet taken hold to implement the settlement plan approved by the UN, which would ultimately allow its people to choose between independence and integration.

Ross was also quoted as saying that the dispute over the final status of Western Sahara had gone on long enough, and people of good will, wherever they may be, must rally urgently around a solution that is honorable for all.

The UN Envoy, who began his visit to North Africa and Europe from Rabat, Morocco, on Oct 27, also inspected refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, and visited Laayoune in Western Sahara, according to Nesirky.