Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps his Department has taken to help resolve the conflict in the Western Sahara.

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 strongly support the work of Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, and regularly engage key partners to encourage constructive engagement with the political process. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon reiterated the UK's position to Morocco's Foreign Minister at the 4th UK-Morocco Strategic Dialogue on 9th May. Dame Barbara Woodward, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, discussed the UK's position with her Moroccan counterpart on 18th April.