Mistakes by De Mistura Shorten the Path to the End of His Mission
The UN envoy committed a diplomatic error by involving Pretoria in the Sahara file without any African institutional legitimacy justifying its visit, especially given its anti-Morocco stance
The actions of the UN envoy to the Moroccan Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, are sparking widespread debate about their effectiveness and approach to the issue, involving parties with no direct or indirect relevance to the Sahara, such as South Africa, which plays a negative role in this regard, casting doubt on the continuity of De Mistura’s mission.
The deadline for the UN envoy to brief the Security Council on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara is approaching, to include his expected report in April on the Moroccan Sahara file. However, his visit to South Africa is considered incomprehensible, as this country has no connection to the file, being neither a neighbor nor one of the six friends of the Sahara, and lacking any African institutional legitimacy justifying this visit.
Conversely, South Africa expresses extremely hostile positions towards Morocco, disregarding Security Council resolutions calling for a realistic and consensual political solution, thereby excluding itself from any UN consultations.
De Mistura ignored Morocco‘s rejection of his visit to South Africa after Rabat became aware of it, which deprives him of any future role in mediation.
Some argue that De Mistura has lost his bearings in his recent actions, which appear to be attempts to rectify the “failure” to reunify the parties, intensifying his visits and discussions with diplomatic officials from several countries. His latest meeting was with Lord Tariq Ahmad, British Minister of State for South Asia, Central Asia, and the United Nations.
On March 11, he also visited the Russian capital, Moscow, and discussed the Moroccan Sahara issue with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his deputy. Moreover, at the end of January, he visited South Africa in a move that elicited negative reactions from Morocco due to Pretoria’s hostile stance towards Morocco.
Mohamed Bouden, an expert in contemporary international affairs, believes that the UN envoy for the Sahara “is now in the realm of his tenure after committing two serious professional errors that will either accelerate his dismissal or his inevitable end; the first concerns his failure to inform Morocco of his intention to visit South Africa, knowing that Morocco is directly involved in the conflict in the Sahara and that such a move cannot be made without consultation or at least notification. This is not a minor slip but a serious professional error”.
The second mistake concerns “De Mistura’s disregard for Morocco’s rejection of that visit to South Africa after Rabat became aware of it, depriving him of any future role in mediation, as Pretoria has no connection to the Sahara issue, being neither a neighbor nor one of the six friends of the Sahara, and lacking any African institutional legitimacy justifying this visit. Furthermore, (South Africa) expresses extremely hostile positions towards the Kingdom of Morocco and its territorial integrity, disregarding Security Council resolutions calling for a realistic and consensual political solution, thereby excluding itself from any UN consultations”.
