UN envoy visits Western Sahara to “advance” the political process

2023-09-05 14:48:14

The envoy of the HIM for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, has landed this Monday at Laayounecapital of this territory, for the first time since he took office at the end of 2021. Although his agenda has not been revealed, De Mistura will carry out “visits in the region and meetingswhich seek to involve all stakeholders before the release of the Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council in October,” according to a press release from the organization.

The last time this representative attempted to travel to Saharain 2022, had to cancel the visit due to Morocco’s refusal, since in practice Rabat controls much of this territory. According to the UN, the special envoy “expects to continue deepening consultations with all stakeholders on the prospects for constructively advancing the political process in Western Sahara”. According to the Moroccan press, De Mistura continued this Tuesday in Dakhla (south of Western Sahara) meetings with authorities, chiefs of tribes and heads of local NGOs.

Before taking the flight to El Ayoun, De Mistura met in Rabat with the representative of Morocco in the United Nations, Omar Hilale, as confirmed by a diplomatic source to Efe. In addition, according to the Moroccan outlet Le 360, after his trip, the diplomat also plans to meet in Rabat with Nasser Bourita, Moroccan Foreign Minister. On other occasions, the representative has also included Mauritania, Algeria and the Saharawi refugee camps of Tindouf on his tours of the region, although for now he has not confirmed any of these trips. In October, De Mistura will have to present his report to the Security Council of the UN on the situation of MINURSO (United Nations Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara).

Criticism of the Polisario

He Polisario Front He has described as an “abnormal situation” that UN envoys need Moroccan approval to visit Western Sahara. In a statement, the independence supporters The Saharawis have also pointed out that there has been a “tightening of the military siege imposed on the occupied Saharawi cities and the deployment of more police forces and security in various Saharawi cities during the visit”.

This tour by De Mistura comes a few days after the United States diplomacy officer for the Middle East and North Africa, Joshua Harris, visited the Tindouf refugee camps and met with the Secretary General of the Polisario Front. , Brahim Ghali. During their meeting, he expressed his support for the “UN political process” and his commitment to find a “dignified and lasting solution for the people of Western Sahara,” according to a message posted on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter.

drone attack

Beyond the diplomatic plane, in 2020 the Polisario considered broken the ceasefire and declared the guerra Morocco. Since then, they affirm that they have attacked the Moroccan wall that divides this territory in two on several occasions, something on which Rabat has not ruled. Precisely last weekend, five Polisario soldiers, including a commander, died in the north of Western Sahara, in combat against the Moroccan army, as confirmed by the Saharawi pro-independence media. According to the press in Morocco, which has also echoed this news, the soldiers died after being shot down by a Moroccan drone in “a failed infiltration attempt.”