Staffan De Mistura on his time in Moroccan Sahara

Western Sahara Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations As part of his most recent tasks, Staffan De Mistura spoke with the UN Radio and discussed his time spent in the Sahara.

The Polisario Front and the Kingdom of Morocco are engaged in a continuing struggle for the Western Sahara.

Staffan de Mistura has devoted his professional life to resolving conflicts. He is currently the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara. During the majority of his 48-year career at the UN, he worked to resolve some of the most difficult conflicts in contemporary history.

“I have no regrets. I would have never chosen another type of job. I think you can make a difference even in the worst-case scenario, always.” De Mistura describes.

De Mistura contends that the role of the diplomat in the Sahara is to open up all possible channels for the improvement of the situation of those affected by the conflict and, secondly, for the resolution of the conflict itself in a manner that is just and in accordance with UN resolutions, where he believes there are formulas for doing so.

De Mistura recalls two women he met in the camps of Tindouf, Algeria, who said they were teenagers when the conflict began and are now grandmothers, wishing for a resolution that could guarantee a future for their own children.