In response to a question about a Reuters report claiming that UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, had proposed dividing Western Sahara, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq clarified on Friday that it could not be described as a formal proposal. «I wouldn't characterize anything as a submission of a proposal. What I would say is that the personal envoy, Mr. de Mistura, was essentially briefing the Security Council on his work on the Western Sahara file, and he looks forward to engaging with all concerned on advancing the process constructively in the period ahead of the next closed consultations, which are expected to take place next April, in 2025, and to report on any progress», he said. For Farhan Haq, «the question is to see what the members of Council and the parties themselves want to embrace as a way forward for Western Sahara». When asked whether some media outlets (such as Reuters) had access to the Personal Envoy's briefing during closed-door consultations, he responded, «I don't really have any comment on how documents spread to members of the Council or so forth. I mean, the nature of the UN is sometimes documents get to people».
