Yahoo news
By Fadel Senna
Canada’s Kim Bolduc was on Monday named as the head of the United Nations mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), a statement from secretary-general Ban Ki-moon’s office said.
Bolduc, 62, will also serve as Ban’s special representative for Western Sahara, replacing Germany’s Wolfgang Weisbrod-Weber who steps down on July 31.
Bolduc has more than 30 years of experience working in UN agencies or missions.
She most recently served as UN co-ordinator and UN Development Programme (UNDP) resident Representative in Panama from 2010 to 2014.
Previous posts included stints in Haiti and Brazil, a statement said.
Western Sahara is controlled by Morocco and claimed by Polisario Front separatists backed by Algeria.
MINURSO is mainly charged with monitoring a ceasefire in the former Spanish colony.
Rabat has proposed autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty for the vast region, which has fewer than one million inhabitants.
The Polisario Front wants a referendum on the territory’s status.
