Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of supporting Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, in line with the amended diplomatic positions of (a) France, (b) the US, (c) Israel and (d) Spain.

Successive UK Governments have regarded the status of Western Sahara as undetermined. The UK supports UN-led efforts to reach a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, based on compromise. The UK continues to support UN-led efforts and, in particular, the work of Staffan de Mistura as Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara. Officials regularly discuss Western Sahara with international partners, including the UN, Morocco, and Algeria; we continue to encourage constructive engagement with the political process.