Rabat – UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that a regional visit from UN Envoy for Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura is still not confirmed.
The statement last week came in response to questions from journalists, asking whether de Mistura’s regional tour is confirmed.
“I have a question on Western Sahara. There are reports that de Mistura is planning soon a new tour of the region,” a journalist asked the UN spokesperson on September 1.
In response, Dujarric confirmed that de Mistura has been attracting “many reports, theories, and rumors.”
The UN spokesman also confirmed that there is nothing official on the planned visit, “until it is announced from here.”
“So we have nothing to share with you at this point,” he added.
The UN has been receiving a series of similar questions on de Mistura including his visits to Morocco.
Some reporters also questioned whether Morocco had refused to receive the personal envoy in Rabat.
Denying the claims, a UN Spokesperson stressed last month that de Mistura made several visits to all concerned parties in the Western Sahara dispute “more than once since taking up his functions, as reflected in the reports of the Secretary-General on Western Sahara.”
Concerning his visits to Morocco, the spokesperson emphasized that de Mistura made two trips to both the North African country and other stakeholders of the territorial dispute.
“He also invited all concerned, as well as members of the Group of Friends of Western Sahara, to informal bilateral consultations at UN Headquarters back in March as you all recall,” he added.
The UN also rejected rumors of de Mistua’s alleged “absence” from public view, emphasizing that the personal envoy is in direct communication with all parties to the dispute.
“When he has his official travel to the region, I’ll let you know,” he added.
This month – if not early in October- will mark the UN Secretary General’s annual report on the situation in Western Sahara.
In the report, the UNSG briefs the international community, including the Security Council on the latest developments in the long-standing regional dispute.
The report will be followed by a UN Security Council meeting, where its member states will sit to vote on extending the mandate of UN peacekeeping operation MINURSO.
