§ Lord Steel of Aikwoodasked Her Majesty's Government:
Following the failure of the United Nations to hold the referendum last month, what is their current policy on Western Sahara. [HL488]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)Her Majesty's Government were disappointed that the referendum in the Western Sahara had to be postponed until December 1999. The UN Secretary General recently visited the region and presented to all the parties involved a package of proposals intended to advance the referendum process. The Polisario, Algeria and Mauritania have all accepted this package and we hope that Morocco also will soon accept. We fully support the UN's efforts to find a just and durable settlement to this dispute. We are working with our EU partners, within the Friends of the Western Sahara Group at the UN and at the Security Council to encourage Morocco to rally to the consensus on the next steps in the process.