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Rabat – Staffan de Mistura, United Nations Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, has been facing a wave of criticism for his official visit to South Africa.
The country has been known for its hostility to Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over Western Sahara.
The UN confirmed de Mistura’s visit to South Africa in a press briefing on January 30, noting the UN envoy was invited by the South African government to discuss the Western Sahara dispute.
Many observers have questioned the purpose of the visit, especially since South Africa is not an actor in the dispute.
“Everyone knows that South Africa is not a party to the dispute and it abstained on the three resolutions that were adopted during its latest mandate in the Security Council on the issue,” a UN journalist said to UN spokesperson Stephane Djjaric at a press conference on Wednesday.
This journalist asserted that this indicates South Africa “does not support the UN political peace process,” and suggested that such a meeting should instead be held in a more neutral location such as the UN in New York.
In response to the question, Dujarric said that part of de Mistura’s mandate is his ability to “speak to whomever he thinks he should speak to; which Member States and others in order to move the process forward.”
A close ally of Algeria, South Africa is part of a shrinking cohort of countries that still support the Polisario Front, the separatist group claiming independence in the Western Sahara region in southern Morocco. Algeria hosts, finances, and arms the Polisario, who are currently residing in the Tindouf refugee camps.
Provocative agenda behind the visit
Commenting on De Mistura’s visit to South Africa, Algerian journalist and political analyst Oualid Kebir said that the trip comes “(of course) in coordination between Pretoria and Algeria.”
“This visit will have a negative impact on the continuity of the UN envoy,” Kebir told Morocco World News (MWN) in a recent interview, noting that South Africa is not directly involved in the dispute over Western Sahara.
For Kebir, the visit’s goal is to elicit a response from Morocco, especially since South Africa is attempting to exert pressure – although such efforts may not have much influence on the Security Council (UNSC).
The UNSC “resolutions are clear and support a realistic political solution based on UN resolutions adopted since 2007,” Kebir argued. He went on to say that these do not take into consideration the options or proposals advocated by the Algerian regime.
However, Kebir also called on observers not to “exaggerate” the significance of de Mistura’s visit, emphasizing that attributing excessive importance to the trip could magnify the situation beyond its actual significance.
The analyst emphasized that Morocco should not “fall into the traps” set by South Africa and Algeria, stressing that the visit should be merely viewed as a move with a primary goal of “provoking Morocco, nothing more and nothing less.”
De Mistura was confirmed as the new envoy for the Western Sahara in October 2021, replacing Horst Kohler who stepped down in 2019 due to health concerns.
Since his appointment, de Mistura has been pledging to set up efforts to address the Sahara dispute through meetings and informal consultations with all parties involved– including the Polisario, Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania.
Such pledges, however, have fallen short of producing effective progress, as the dispute is still in a stalemate, with Algeria rejecting responsibility in the matter and refusing to take part in roundtable discussions.
These refusals exacerbate the stagnating UN-led political process despite UN efforts to urge Algeria to engage in seeking a political solution to end the lingering dispute.
South Africa and the Sahara
South Africa’s government has long shown hostility towards Morocco’s position with regard to Western Sahara.
The government has even politicized sports to convey its position challenging Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces in the region.
One such incident is evidenced by a provocative remark made by the South African ambassador to Algiers, who dedicated his country’s victory against Morocco in the AFCON Round of 16 games to the “people of the Sahara,” implying that they are not Moroccan.
“Our national team defeated Morocco to qualify for the AFCON quarter-finals. We dedicate this victory to the Palestinian people and the people of Western Sahara,” Ambassador Stello Patrick Rankhumise told an Algerian television channel.
