Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help (a) promote self-determination for the Saharawi people in the Western Sahara and (b) secure a referendum with an option for independence.

The UK supports UN-led efforts to reach a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution, based on compromise, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. We support the work of Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General. The UK welcomes the recent efforts of all concerned to engage with the Envoy and to facilitate his recent visit to Western Sahara. We will continue to encourage constructive engagement with the political process. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon discussed the importance of moving the process forward towards resolution with Morocco's Foreign Minister on 9 May.