29 April 2014 – The Security Council today extended for another year the mandate of the United Nations mission tasked with monitoring the ceasefire in Western Sahara and organizing a referendum on self-determination for the people of the territory.

The UN has been involved in efforts to find a settlement in Western Sahara since 1976, when fighting broke out between Morocco and the Frente Polisario after the Spanish colonial administration of the territory ended.

In today’s resolution, the 15-member Council extended the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 April 2015. MINURSO has been in effect since 1991.

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