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Rabat – The UN has strongly denied the “false” reports alleging that Staffan de Mistura is considering stepping down as the UN personal envoy for Western Sahara.
Addressing the rumors, the Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric stressed that such speculation on de Mistura’s resignation plan are “completely false.”
“We have been getting some questions about our friend Staffan de Mistura, the Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, and the speculation that we have seen in some press quarters is that he is considering stepping down, and I just want to say that they are in fact speculation, and in fact, completely false.”
The UN spokesman reiterated de Mistura’s determination to continue to work with all concerned parties to find a mutually acceptable political solution for the Western Sahara dispute.
“The Personal Envoy is planning to maintain and intensify engagements with all concerned and broader international supporters in a variety of formats, including regional visits and bilateral opportunities,” Dujarric said.
He emphasized that de Mistura also appreciates the support of both the Security Council and the Group of Friends for Western Sahara.
The UN confirmed de Mistura as UNSG new personal envoy in October 2021 amid tensions between Algeria and Morocco and in the aftermath of Polisario’s provocative moves defying the 1991 UN-brokered ceasefire and the latest UN resolutions.
Since his appointment, de Mistura has been pledging to step up efforts to tackle the Sahara dispute through meetings and informal consultations with the parties to the conflict – namely Morocco, Algeria, Polisario, and Mauritania.
His proposal for a Geneva roundtable-like consultation came as the once touted Kohler legacy faded amid a deepening political crisis between Algeria and Morocco.
Read also: UN Western Sahara Envoy Reports Consultation Results to UN Secretary General
Algeria’s reluctance to engage in the process as a main party to the dispute is also one of the major challenges de Mistura and his mission are facing. Algeria, which hosts, finances, arms, and trains the Polisario Front, continues to describe itself as merely an observer and not a main party to the Sahara dispute.
Resolution 2654, the UN Security Council’s latest on the Sahara question, confirmed Algeria’s status as a major party to the dispute.
Paragraph three of the resolution, which was adopted in October last year, stipulates that the Security Council “strongly encourages Morocco, the Frente POLISARIO, Algeria, and Mauritania to engage with the Personal Envoy through the duration of this process, in a spirit of realism and compromise to ensure a successful outcome.”
Still, the Algerian regime has been echoing the country’s long-standing approach of denying its historical involvement in the territorial dispute, claiming that any solution should be discussed between the Polisario Front and Morocco.
