UN envoy to Western Sahara Staffan de Mistura and a delegation from Rabat began a high‑level dialogue with Moroccan Foreign Minister Callus Burita in Rabat on Friday after a three‑day tour of the contested area. The Moroccan side reaffirmed that any political solution should be anchored in autonomy for the former Spanish colony under Moroccan sovereignty, a proposal that Rabat has consistently backed as the exclusive path forward.
The United Nations representative touched down in Rabat and then proceeded to visits in key Sahrawi cities, including Dakhla and El Aaiún, arriving late on Thursday. According to UN summaries, de Mistura held a series of meetings with a broad spectrum of actors described as “all parties involved” during the journey. This marks the first time the envoy has visited Western Sahara since assuming his post at the end of 2021. While the UN did not disclose exhaustive details of the visit, it noted that de Mistura met with local officials, tribal leaders, and NGO representatives. One aim of the trip is to prepare the Secretary‑General’s report for the Security Council due in October.
During the mission, de Mistura also engaged with roughly twenty representatives from Sahrawi organizations who advocated commemorating an independence referendum. Among those present was the Speaker of the Assembly. The Sahrawi Organization Against Torture in Dakhla and other groups with ties to the Polisario Front were reported to be represented, according to sources from EC Saharaui. The planned trip, previously scheduled for 2022, faced a pause when Rabat refused to grant permission at the time; today, Morocco controls a substantial portion of the territory, shaping the context of the discussions.
USA visit
In parallel diplomacy, the Moroccan Foreign Minister held talks with Joshua Harris, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for North Africa, on Thursday. The U.S. side described Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara as serious, credible, and potentially capable of addressing the expectations of the people, as stated in a press release from the U.S. Embassy. Washington affirmed its support for de Mistura and his mission in the region.
Prior to arriving in Rabat, Harris conducted visits to Algeria and the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, where he met with Brahim Gali, the General Secretary of the Polisario Front. The regional trip did not issue a public reference to the December 2021 U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, a move that remains a sensitive element in regional diplomacy. The day’s engagements reflected a broader effort by the international community to assess whether a negotiated autonomy framework could serve as a viable mechanism to resolve decades of dispute and to gauge the willingness of all parties to engage in substantive talks.
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