UN Security Council to address Western Sahara issue in mid-April

The French presidency of the United Nations Security Council has scheduled a special session on the Western Sahara issue, set to take place on April 14, according to the provisional program published on the UN website.

This session comes just days after a delegation from the French embassy in Rabat visited the headquarters of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) in Laayoune. There, they met with senior UN officials to discuss recent developments on the ground between the Royal Armed Forces and the Polisario Front.

The session also coincides with preparations for the anticipated visit of UN Secretary-General's personal envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, to the Tindouf camps. De Mistura had previously visited Rabat on March 24, where he met with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.

During the meeting, Morocco reaffirmed its support for UN efforts to reach a realistic, pragmatic, and lasting political solution, based exclusively on its autonomy initiative within the framework of national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Meanwhile, the Polisario Front, ahead of de Mistura’s visit, reiterated its stance on «the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination and independence».