Sahara: De Mistura informs UN Chief on his consultations ahead of Security Council meeting

UN Sahara envoy Staffan De Mistura met on Thursday at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

According to the UN Department of Political & Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), Mr. de Mistura reported to the UN Chief on the informal consultations he held this week with all parties to the Sahara conflict and with representatives of the Group of Friends of Sahara.

Staffan de Mistura’s meeting with the UN Secretary General comes before the upcoming briefing he is to make to the UN Security Council on the Sahara.

The Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Sahara met separately with the representatives of Morocco, Algeria, Polisario and Mauritania as well as with the representatives of France, Spain, Russia, UK and the United States, the penholder of the resolutions on the Sahara.

Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric said the goal of these informal bilateral consultations is “to discuss lessons learned in the political process; to deepen the examination of the positions; and to continue seeking mutually agreeable formulas to advance the political process.”