United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday named Italian diplomat Staffan de Mistura as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara.
This comes at a time when the territorial dispute between Morocco and Western Sahara is still raging.
As a result, part of de Mistura’s duty will be to persuade Morocco and Algeria’s Polisario Front to return to the negotiating table and reach an agreement on the future of the region that was formerly a Spanish colony before Morocco seized it.
Horst Köhler of Germany, who departed the position in May 2019 after an unsuccessful attempt to revive the mediation, will be replaced by Mistura.
“Mr de Mistura will provide good leadership on behalf of the Secretary General. He will work with all relevant interlocutors, including the involved parties, neighbouring countries and other stakeholders, guided by Security Council resolution 2548 (2020), and other relevant resolutions,” the UN said on Wednesday.
A veteran diplomat, de Mistura has been the Secretary‑General’s Special Envoy for Syria, where the world’s largest refugee and displacement crisis has persisted for years, dividing the UN Security Council’s permanent members.
