Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 8 February 2024 to Question 13004 on Western Sahara: Politics and Government and pursuant to the Answers of 5 August 2024 to Question 1972 on Western Sahara: Self-determination of States, and of 12 September 2024 to Question 4190 on Western Sahara: Politics and Government, what steps he is taking at the UN to help ensure the people of Western Sahara are able to exercise their right to self-determination in line with the UN Charter.

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. The UK continues to support the UN-led efforts and the work of Staffan de Mistura as Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, who I met with on 18 September. Officials regularly discuss Western Sahara with international partners, and we continue to encourage constructive engagement with the political process.