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Rabat – UN Personal Envoy for Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura has expressed his hope to see all parties to the Western Sahara dispute involved in “deep consultations” as part of the UN-led political process to find a mutually acceptable and agreed-upon solution to the dispute.
Spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric said on September 6 that de Mistura is holding a series of talks with other concerned parties to the dispute, emphasizing his trip to Algeria as part of this tour.
“He is planning to travel to Nouakchott for meetings with the Mauritanian authorities on 10 September,” the UN spokesperson said. Dujarric emphasized that the personal envoy is looking forward to “deepening the consultations with all concerned on the prospects of constructively advancing the political process on Western Sahara.”
Dujarric concluded his briefing on Western Sahara by stressing de Mistura’s approach to remain guided by “the clear precedents set by his predecessors.”
Earlier this week, Algiers renewed its defiance to the latest UN Resolution 2602, which urges all parties to the dispute to take part in potential roundtables of talks as part of the UN-led political process.
The roundtables were initiated by former envoy Horst Kohler, who resigned in 2019 amid important developments in the Sahara dispute. The envoy was able to convene all of the main parties — Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, and Polisario — for a roundtable discussion.
Following Kohler’s resignation and recent developments marked by a worsened diplomatic crisis between Morocco and Algeria, the UN found itself facing a nearly impossible mission to revive discussions and consultations as part of the political process.
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During de Mistura’s meeting with Algerian officials on September 5, the country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ramtane Lamamra said that discussions focused on the “prospects of consolidating the efforts of the UN for a resumption of direct negotiations between the two parties to the conflict.”
Although Algeria finances, backs, and shelters the Polisario Front, the North African country has long claimed itself to be simply a concerned neighbor and observer to the dispute. This denial of responsibility in the dispute actively undermines the prospect of the dialogue-based resolution that the UN and the international community supports.
De Mistura’s new tour to Algeria and Mauritania followed his visit to Morocco in July. During his visit to Rabat, a high-level delegation emphasized its readiness to take part in UN roundtables.
The delegation also recalled Morocco’s position on the dispute, emphasizing that the country’s Autonomy Plan should be looked at as the basis to end the dispute- – stressing that the initiative has been widely recognized as the best route to a lasting, realistic political solution to end the dispute.
