New York (UN), 8 January 2022 (SPS) - The UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, is preparing his first tour of the region, according to Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Mr. Dujarric's remarks indicated that Mr. De Mistura is preparing his first tour in the region, stressing that "the latter is in contact with the two parties concerned, namely the Polisario Front and Morocco".
It should be recalled that Mr. Guterres had announced, on October 6, 2021, the appointment of the Italian diplomat, Staffan de Mistura, as his new personal envoy for Western Sahara, replacing the former German President, Horst Kohler who resigned on 22 May 2019.
Following the appointment of Mr. De Mistura, the Polisario Front recalled, in its statement, that the appointment of De Mistura "comes at a time when the UN peace process in Western Sahara has experienced, from 6 September 1991 to 13 November 2020, extremely dangerous developments, because Morocco has undermined the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) as established in Security Council resolution 690 (1991) and relevant resolutions, torpedoed the ceasefire and declared war again on the Sahrawi people.
It reiterated that "the only way to achieve a peaceful, just and lasting solution guaranteeing the decolonization of Western Sahara is to allow the Sahrawi people to freely and democratically exercise their inalienable and non-negotiable right to self-determination and independence in accordance with international legality and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the African Union.
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