chargement...
As he gears up to present his report on the Sahara issue to the Security Council in April, Staffan de Mistura met yesterday in Geneva with Barham Salih, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, who has been serving since January 1, 2026.
«I was delighted to meet my long-time friend and colleague, the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, Mr. de Mistura, to discuss his vital efforts with the UNHCR. We are committed to pursuing a just, lasting, and mutually agreeable solution for Western Sahara. The UNHCR stands ready to continue supporting these collective efforts,» stated the former Iraqi president.
This meeting unfolds against a backdrop where the United Nations' involvement in Western Sahara discussions was sidelined during Donald Trump's administration.
In this context, de Mistura, alongside representatives from Morocco, Algeria, the Polisario Front, and Mauritania, was invited to participate in talks in February, initially at the U.S. embassy in Madrid, followed by discussions in Washington.
These exchanges were exclusively directed by Donald Trump's special advisor for African and Arab affairs, Massad Boulos, and the U.S. mission's permanent representative to the UN, Mike Waltz, effectively relegating the international organization to a secondary role.
