The UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy to the Western Sahara, Peter van Walsum, chaired negotiations between the parties to the dispute in June and August 2007, and January and March 2008. Progress has been slow and in his report of 14 April, the UN Secretary-General called on the parties to enter into a more intensive and substantive phase of negotiations. The UK supported the UN Security Council Resolution 1813 (30 April) in its call for the parties to co-operate fully with the UN and with each other to end the current impasse to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution which will provide for the self determination of the people of Western Sahara.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed Western Sahara with his Moroccan counterpart. In my recent visit to Morocco in April, I echoed the words of the UN Secretary-General and called on all parties to engage in negotiations under the auspices of the UN in a spirit of compromise and realism. I also encouraged greater transparency in the field of human rights in Western Sahara in order to foster greater confidence between the parties. After a further round of negotiations held in March this year, UN Security Council Resolution 1813 was adopted on 30 April. It called on the parties to continue to show political will to enter into a more intensive and substantive phase of negotiations. The UK has welcomed these negotiations and has encouraged the parties to maintain their commitment to the process.
No representation has been made to Morocco regarding the use of mineral resources in Western Sahara. The UK's long standing position remains that Morocco, the de facto administering power of Western Sahara, is obliged under international law to ensure that economic activities under their administration do not adversely affect the interests of the people of Western Sahara, and this includes their de facto control over most of the territory and maritime resources of Western Sahara.