NEW YORK, JANUARY 12 – The Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, will begin his first visit to the region and landed in Rabat today. He will initially meet Moroccan officials in Rabat and then Fronte POLISARIO officials in Tindouf/Rabouni. He is also planning to visit Algiers and Nouakchott during this trip.
“The Personal Envoy looks forward to hearing the views of all concerned on how to make progress towards a constructive resumption of the political process on Western Sahara”, said a UN Spokeperson.
De Mistura was appointed last October succeeding Horst Köhler of Germany, who completed his assignment in May 2019. In his role as Personal Envoy will provide good offices on behalf of the Secretary-General, working with all relevant interlocutors, including the parties, neighboring countries and other stakeholders, guided by Security Council resolution 2548 (2020) and other relevant resolutions.
Mr. de Mistura brings more than 40 years of experience in diplomacy and political affairs. During his career with the United Nations, he served as Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, providing good offices aimed at promoting a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis. Prior appointments include Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and for Iraq, Personal Representative of the Secretary-General for Southern Lebanon, and Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Rome. He also served the Organization in various posts in Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Vietnam and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, among others.
In addition to his service with the United Nations, he was appointed Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and thereafter Deputy Foreign Minister in Italy. (@OnuItalia)