A UN envoy has made his first visit to Western Sahara. He pledged to advance the political process
The United Nations has doubled down on its pledge to revive stalled negotiations over the disputed Western Sahara in a visit to the region this week in which its top negotiator met with officials on all sides
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations doubled down on its pledge to revive stalled negotiations over the disputed Western Sahara during a visit to the region this week in which its top negotiator met with officials on all sides before the release of a highly anticipated U.N. report next month.
The visit was Staffan de Mistura’s first to the Western Sahara since he was appointed in 2021 to oversee U.N. efforts to guide negotiations that date back more than three decades.
Morocco annexed Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony in 1975, sparking a conflict with the pro-independence Polisario Front. The region is believed to have considerable offshore oil deposits and mineral resources and is slightly larger than the United Kingdom.
The U.N. brokered a 1991 cease-fire and established a peacekeeping mission to monitor the truce and help prepare a referendum on the territory’s future. Disagreements over who is eligible to vote have prevented the referendum from taking place. The Polisario Front renewed armed conflict in 2020, ending a 29-year truce.
The longstanding status quo was also punctured further later that year, when the United States broke with its past policy and recognized Morocco’s claim over the disputed territory as part of an agreement in which Morocco normalized relations with Israel.
De Mistura met with officials in Morocco’s capital on Friday after touring Dakhla and Laayoune, its two largest cities, for the first time. The United Nations said in a statement leading up to the trip that he “looked forward
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