General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

20 November 1990

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

                                                       A/RES/45/21
                                                       44th plenary meeting
                                                       20 November 1990
 
                       Question of Western Sahara
 
     The General Assembly,
 
     Having considered in depth the question of Western Sahara,
 
     Recalling the inalienable right of all peoples to self-determination and
independence, in accordance with the principles set forth in the Charter of
the United Nations and in General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of
14 December 1960, containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence
to Colonial Countries and Peoples,
 
     Recalling its resolution 44/88 of 11 December 1989,
 
     Recalling resolution AHG/Res.104 (XIX) on Western Sahara, adopted by the
Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity
at its nineteenth ordinary session, held at Addis Ababa from 6 to 12 June
1983,
 
     Recalling also the agreement in principle given on 30 August 1988 by the
Kingdom of Morocco and the Frente Popular para la Liberacion de Saguia
el-Hamra y de Rio de Oro to the joint proposals of the current Chairman of the
Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity
and the Secretary-General of the United Nations with a view to the holding of
a referendum for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, organized
and supervised by the United Nations in co-operation with the Organization of
African Unity,
 
     Recalling further Security Council resolution 621 (1988) of 20 September
1988 concerning the question of Western Sahara,
 
     Noting with satisfaction the appointment on 19 January 1990 of
Mr. Johannes Manz as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for
Western Sahara,
 
     Having examined the relevant chapter of the report of the Special
Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the
Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples,
 
     Having also examined the report of the Secretary-General,
 
     Reiterating its support for the joint good offices process initiated in
New York on 9 April 1986 by the then Chairman of the Assembly of Heads of
State and Government of the Organization of African Unity and the
Secretary-General of the United Nations with a view to promoting a just and
definitive solution of the question of Western Sahara, in accordance with
resolution AHG/Res.104 (XIX) and General Assembly resolution 40/50 of
2 December 1985,
 
     1.   Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General;
 
     2.   Reaffirms that the question of Western Sahara is a question of
decolonization which remains to be completed on the basis of the exercise by
the people of Western Sahara of their inalienable right to self-determination
and independence;
 
     3.   Welcomes with satisfaction the report submitted by the
Secretary-General to the Security Council on the situation concerning
Western Sahara, which was unanimously approved by the Council in its
resolution 658 (1990) of 27 June 1990;
 
     4.   Notes with appreciation the dispatching to Western Sahara and to
neighbouring countries of the technical mission in order to refine the
administrative aspects of the outlined plan and to obtain the necessary
information for the preparation of a further report of the Secretary-General
to the Security Council containing, in particular, an estimate of the cost of
the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara;
 
     5.   Expresses its full support for the efforts of the current Chairman
of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of
African Unity and the Secretary-General of the United Nations to promote a
just and definitive solution of the question of Western Sahara, in accordance
with General Assembly resolution 40/50;
 
     6.   Urges the current Chairman of the Assembly of Heads of State and
Government of the Organization of African Unity and the Secretary-General of
the United Nations to continue and intensify their efforts with a view to
resolving the remaining problems and thus to fulfil the necessary conditions
for the holding of a referendum for self-determination of the people of
Western Sahara, without any administrative or military constraints, organized
and supervised by the United Nations in co-operation with the Organization of
African Unity;
 
     7.   Reaffirms its conviction that the direct dialogue between the two
parties to the conflict could contribute to the completion of the joint good
offices process of the current Chairman of the Assembly of Heads of State and
Government of the Organization of African Unity and the Secretary-General of
the United Nations, to the restoration of peace in Western Sahara and to
stability and security in the whole region;
 
     8.   Appeals once again to the Kingdom of Morocco and the Frente Popular
para la Liberacion de Saguia el-Hamra y de Rio de Oro to display the
co-operation and the political good will necessary for the completion of the
peace process with a view to a speedy settlement of the question of Western
Sahara;
 
     9.   Requests the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the
Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial
Countries and Peoples to continue to consider the situation in Western Sahara
as a matter of priority and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its
forty-sixth session;
 
     10.  Invites the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity
to keep the Secretary-General of the United Nations informed of the progress
achieved in the implementation of the decisions of the Organization of African
Unity relating to Western Sahara;
 
     11.  Invites the Secretary-General to follow the situation in Western
Sahara closely with a view to the implementation of the present resolution and
to report thereon to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session.