Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will he ask the (a) UN Secretary General and (b) Special Representative for Western Sahara and Head of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara to provide the number of Moroccan soldiers based (i) along the Berm and (ii) elsewhere in Western Sahara.

The UN publishes annual reports of the Secretary General on the situation concerning Western Sahara, which include details of the situation on the ground. Members of the UN Security Council also receive additional briefing and discuss developments during bi-annual closed consultations, most recently on 14 April. The UK continues to support 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. The UK strongly supports the work of Staffan de Mistura and continues to encourage constructive engagement with the UN political process.