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Rabat – UN Envoy for Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura has directly challenged Algeria’s official narrative, refuting Algiers’ long-standing claim that it plays merely an “observer” role in the Sahara dispute.
De Mistura made his remarks in an interview published by the Italian Institute for International Political Studies last week.
The interview took place following his meeting with US officials in Washington.
In the interview, de Mistura was asked about the relevance of the UN and the broader purpose of his mission, including the meaning of being a UN envoy.
De Mistra emphasized that his mission is to prevent the eruption of a wider conflict between two nations, Algeria and Morocco in particular, as well as the Polisario Front.
De Mistura’s remarks carried significant weight and directly challenged Algeria’s crafted stance and narrative. The Algerian regime has long maintained that the Sahara is strictly a dispute between Morocco and the Polisario.
For decades, Algeria has been presenting itself as an observer to the dispute despite its direct involvement in foreign interference to undermine Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara.
In April, the Algerian regime reiterated its reluctance to engage in the UN-led political process during a meeting between de Mistura and Algeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmed Attaf.
In the meeting, Attaf reiterated Algeria’s “full support for the efforts of the UN Secretary General Mr. Antonio Guterres and his Personal Envoy, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, aimed at reviving the political settlement process of the conflict in Western Sahara based on the UN Charter and principles of international law related to decolonization.”
He also reiterated his country’s stance that they are not a party to the dispute.
More than just the last nail in the coffin
This comes despite Algeria’s role in harboring, financing, and fully arming the Polisario, as well as supporting its independence claims in the Western Sahara. The separatist group is facing growing appeals to be labeled as terrorists from many high-ranking officials in the international community.
Algeria also finances and arms the Polisario Front in addition to supporting its
Despite its evidenced involvement, Algeria’s regime repeatedly declined to engage in roundtable discussions sponsored by the UN, hampering th initiatives seeking to find a realistic and pragmatic political solution.
Algeria’s claims, which are disconnected from reality, however, have been confronted by many UN resolutions, which have called on Algiers to engage in the political process and contribute to finding a political solution to the dispute.
Resolution 2756 of October 2024 advocated for the resumption of the political process, urging all parties to refrain from actions that could jeopardize the political process.
In April this year, the UN Envoy also called for a detailed discussion on Morocco’s Autonomy Plan amid an international consensus welcoming the proposal as the only feasible political solution to end the regional dispute.
In a closed-door meeting at the UN Security Council on Western Sahara, he acknowledged the diplomatic momentum that Morocco’s position is receiving, including support from powerhouses like the US.
He recalled remarks by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has reaffirmed in repeated statements the US’ position in support of Morocco and its sovereignty over its southern provinces.
In the meeting, de Mistura said that the US statements echo “what I believe and what I am calling for – the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative must be explained in detail, and a clear meaning must be given to the prerogatives that would be granted to a truly autonomous Western Sahara.”
The envoy’s remarks, according to observers, served as the final nail in the coffin of Algeria’s exposed Western Sahara agenda.
In an opinion following de Mistura’s remarks, foreign political analyst Samir Bennis wrote that the envoy’s shift on the dispute rebukes Algeria’s narrative and instead “calls for the region to be granted broad autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty” as the only viable path to a lasting and politically feasible resolution to the conflict.
“Ultimately, the UN envoy’s comment effectively confirms what had long been an open secret for seasoned observers of the Western Sahara saga: there is no feasible solution to this Algeria-engineered dispute outside the parameters of the Moroccan autonomy plan,” the political analyst said.
Now with de Mistura’s latest remarks and continued international support for Morocco’s side, Algeria’s narrative has not only been nailed shut but buried altogether.
