The United Nations recently appointed a new envoy for Western Sahara - Staffan de Mistura. This is a welcome step towards resolving the long-running conflict between the pro-independence Polisario movement, which represents the people of Western Sahara, and Morocco, which has occupied the territory since 1975.
The appointment comes as the UN Security Council prepares to renew the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara. But the UN must do more than simply facilitate talks between Morocco and Polisario on the basis of an ambiguous call for a "political solution". This approach has failed to deliver an agreement, and it will fail again.
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