Antonio Guterres defends his proposal on the extension of MINURSO mandate

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres defends his proposal of extending the MINURSO mandate to one year. «I think one year, obviously, gives it greater stability, which I think is important. And the message to the parties as well is, obviously, also to work with his Special Envoy, Mr [Horst] Köhler», said Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Stéphane Dujarric on Thursday, October the 11th, during a press briefing.

Antonio Guterres’ recommendation may be rejected by the United States, which wants to reduce the expenses of UN peacekeeping missions such as the MINURSO. Washington puts pressure on Morocco and the Polisario to make progress in the negotiation process.

For the record, on October the 29th the UN Security Council will have to adopt a new resolution to extend the MINURO mandate.