UN Chief Appoints Staffan De Mistura As Personal Envoy For Western Sahara - Spokesperson

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday appointed Italian-Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th October, 2021) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday appointed Italian-Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing.

"United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today announced the appointment of Staffan de Mistura of Italy as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara," Dujarric said.

De Mistura will succeed Horst Kohler of Germany, who stepped down more than two years ago as the Western Sahara dispute between the Polisario Front liberation movement and Morocco came to a stalemate.

Dujarric said the new Personal Envoy is expected to take office on November 1 and will work with all relevant actors in the region, providing mediation efforts on behalf of the UN Secretary-General.

De Mistura has more than 40 years of experience in diplomacy and served as UN Special Envoy for Syria from 2014 to 2018.

He also served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and Iraq and Personal Representative for Southern Lebanon, as well as Director of the United Nations Information Center in Rome.