Guterres in charge Ivanko of the liquidation of the mission in the Western Sahara

O uN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres charged Russian diplomat Alexander Ivanko with the liquidation of the United Nations referendum mission in the Western Sahara (Minursus).

Guterres' spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, explained today at the daily press conference that Ivanko will be ahead of the decommissioning of the mission on the ground, guided by those responsible in New York.

The Russian diplomat was a special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara and Head of Minurse since August 2021.

His term of office has ended with the cessation of operations of the mission.

The UN initiated the settlement operations after, on 30 October last, the mission was not renewed following cross vetoes from the United States and Russia to proposals to extend the mandate.

“Setting activities will include the repatriation of military observers from the bases of operations” and the “appropriate withdrawal or disposal of United Nations equipment and assets,” Dujarric said.

Its main objective since 1991 was to organise a referendum on self-determination in the Western Sahara, disputed between Morocco and the Polisario Front independentists, supported by Algeria, since the withdrawal of Spain in 1975.

The UN announced this week that it plans to repatriate some 160 military observers and withdraw approximately 180 civilian and associated personnel as part of the mission's liquidation process.

The territory is divided by a wall built by Morocco that separates the Moroccan control zone, where the majority of the population and resources are concentrated, and the eastern areas considered as the demilitarized buffer zone.

Minurso acted as an observer to document incidents on the ground, especially after 2020, when Polisario unilaterally disengaged from ceasefire agreements with Morocco.

Morocco committed itself to respecting the ceasefire agreed in 1991, although some observers pointed out that the absence of a UN surveillance mechanism could have military consequences favourable to Rabat.