United Nations Security Council Resolution 1056

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UN Security Council Resolution 1056 was adopted unanimously on 29 May 1996. It reaffirmed all previous resolutions on Western Sahara and focused on the Settlement Plan, including the suspension of the voter identification process. The Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 30 November 1996 and stressed the importance of the ceasefire.

At the time, more than 60,000 voters had already been identified for the referendum on self-determination. The Council expressed regret that the two sides—the Moroccan government and the Polisario Front—had not cooperated enough with MINURSO to complete the voter identification, and therefore the process was suspended. It agreed with the Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali’s recommendation to reduce MINURSO’s military component by 20% without affecting its operational capacity.

The Security Council urged the parties to show goodwill by releasing political prisoners and to accelerate the peace plan’s implementation. It supported maintaining a political office to keep dialogue open. If there was no progress, further reductions in MINURSO would be considered, and the resumption of voter identification would depend on progress. The Secretary-General was asked to report on the resolution’s implementation by 10 November 1996.