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Federal Foreign Office on the appointment of Staffan de Mistura as the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara
A Federal Foreign Office Spokesperson issued the following statement today (07 October) on the appointment of Staffan de Mistura as the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara:
The fact that the post of Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara has been filled after lying vacant for more than two years is very good news. Staffan de Mistura is an experienced diplomat and mediator who has proven his outstanding diplomatic skills during many crises.
Mr de Mistura can count on our full support as he seeks to find a fair and durable political solution to the Western Sahara conflict within the UN framework which is acceptable to all sides. It is important that the political process and, in particular, the round table talks are now quickly resumed in line with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
Background information
UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed the Italian-Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara yesterday (06 October). He succeeds former Federal President Prof. Horst Köhler, who held this office from August 2017 to May 2019. De Mistura has held several UN posts for over four decades. Most recently, he was the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Syria from 2014 to 2018.