Mentions:
1: Daniel Kawczynski (Con - Shrewsbury and Atcham) I beg to move,That this House has considered Government policy on the recognition of Western Sahara - Speech Link
2: Rehman Chishti (Con - Gillingham and Rainham) Western Sahara as Moroccan, and my first question to the Minister is this: when was the Government position - Speech Link
3: Lyn Brown (Lab - West Ham) What steps are the Government taking to support access to the entire territory of Western Sahara and - Speech Link
Found: Western Sahara
Oral Evidence Mar. 26 2024
Inquiry: The UK’s engagement with the Middle East and North AfricaFound: Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, Think-Tank for Action on Social Change, and Heritage Foundation
Oral Evidence Mar. 26 2024
Inquiry: The UK’s engagement with the Middle East and North AfricaFound: Middle East Program, CSIS, RUSI, Jonathan Wilks, and The University of Exeter Oral Evidence
Written Evidence Dec. 18 2023
Inquiry: The UK’s engagement with the Middle East and North AfricaFound: MENA0014 - The UK’s engagement with the Middle East and North Africa European Leadership Network UK (
Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether Morocco is listed by the UN as the Administering Power of Western Sahara.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Morocco is not listed as the administering Power of Western Sahara on the United Nations' list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, when he last reviewed the legal status of the conflict in Western Sahara.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon receives reports on the Western Sahara. Officials regularly meet and consult with international partners to discuss the issue of Western Sahara, including those from the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), the UN, NGOs, Civil Society Organisations, and the broader international community.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of recognising Western Sahara as part of the Kingdom of Morocco.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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. We strongly support the work of Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General and will continue to encourage constructive engagement with the political process and monitor progress.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for the UK’s (a) strategic and (b) economic interests in Africa of continued neutrality in the Western Sahara conflict.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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, and supports 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 and monitor progress.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) the US, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) the Netherlands and (e) Spain on (i) the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative for Western Sahara and (ii) a political solution to the conflict in that region.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Officials regularly meet and consult with international partners to discuss the issue of Western Sahara, including the US, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, up to and including at Ambassadorial level by His Majesty's Ambassadors to Rabat and Algiers, and at Permanent and Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN-level in New York.