Western Sahara,formerly the colony of Spanish Sahara,is a disputed territory claimed by both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro,which is an independence movement based in Tifariti and Bir Lehlou. The Annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco took place in two stages,in 1976 and 1979,and is considered illegal under international law.
The Madrid Accords,formally the Declaration of Principles on Western Sahara,was a treaty between Spain,Morocco,and Mauritania setting out six principles which would end the Spanish presence in the territory of Spanish Sahara and arrange a temporary administration in the area pending a referendum.
The Arab Maghreb Union is a political union and economic union trade agreement aiming for economic and future political unity among Arab countries that are located primarily in the Maghreb in North Africa. Its members are the nations of Algeria,Libya,Mauritania,Morocco and Tunisia. The Union has been unable to achieve tangible progress on its goals due to deep economic and political disagreements between Morocco and Algeria regarding,among others,the issue of Western Sahara. No high-level meetings have taken place since 3 July 2008,and commentators regard the Union as largely dormant.
Ahmad Allam-Mi is a Chadian diplomat who has been Secretary-General of the Economic Community of Central African States since 2013. He was the Foreign Minister of Chad from 2005 to 2008,and he was Chad's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2008 to 2013.
Dah Ould Abdi is a Mauritanian diplomat who was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation from 2001 to 2002.
Mauritania,formally the Islamic Republic of Mauritania,is a sovereign country in Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west,Western Sahara to the north and northwest,Algeria to the northeast,Mali to the east and southeast,and Senegal to the southwest. By land area Mauritania is the 11th-largest country in Africa and 28th-largest in the world;90% of its territory is in the Sahara. Most of its population of some 4.3 million lives in the temperate south of the country,with roughly a third concentrated in the capital and largest city,Nouakchott,on the Atlantic coast.
Atul Khare is a career international diplomat and civil servant who currently serves as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations in UN Department of Operational Support and previously as Under Secretary General in United Nations Department of Field Support and Assistant Secretary General for UN Peacekeeping Operations.
The United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education,arts,sciences and culture. It has 194 member states and 12 associate members,as well as partners in the non-governmental,intergovernmental and private sector. Headquartered in Paris,France,UNESCO has 53 regional field offices and 199 national commissions.
Ruchira Kamboj is a retired Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1987 batch,who last served as India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2022 to May 2024 until her retirement. She has previously served as High Commissioner of India to South Africa,first female Indian Ambassador to Bhutan and Ambassador/Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO,Paris.
Irina Georgieva Bokova is a Bulgarian politician and a former Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017). During her political and diplomatic career in Bulgaria,she served,among others,two terms as a member of the National parliament,and deputy minister of foreign affairs and minister of foreign affairs ad interim under Prime Minister Zhan Videnov. She also served as Bulgaria's ambassador to France and to Monaco,and was Bulgaria's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. Bokova was also the personal representative of Bulgaria's president to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (2005–2009).
Jo Ellen Powell is a career member of the United States Foreign Service who served as Consul General in Frankfurt,Germany and was nominated as the US ambassador to Mauritania by Barack Obama on July 15,2010. She has been known in Frankfurt for her active engagement with Germany's Muslim community,as well as with students,through the "Windows on America" program. Prior to that Powell was the executive director of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs,director of the Office of Employee Relations,and management counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra,Australia. Powell has also served in France,Italy,Lebanon,and Jordan. She is married to Stephen Engelken,also a career diplomat and current deputy chief of mission to Islamabad in Pakistan,with whom she has a son.
Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser is a Qatari diplomat and the former permanent representative of Qatar to the United Nations,appointed on 11 September 1998. Prior to this office at the United Nations,Al-Nasser had served as the ambassador to Jordan from 1993. He worked for his country's foreign affairs department beginning in November 1972. He was the President of the Sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly from 14 September 2011 to 18 September 2012.
Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is head of a SAARC Secretariat,which is headquartered in Kathmandu,Nepal. SAARC is an economic and geopolitical union between the eight South Asian member nations,Afghanistan,Bangladesh,Bhutan,India,Maldives,Nepal,Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Secretary-General is appointed for a three-year term by election by a council of Ministers from member states. Secretary-General is assisted by eight deputies,one from each nation,who also reside in Kathmandu. SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987 by Bangladeshi diplomat Abul Ahsan,who was its first Secretary-General,and was inaugurated by King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal. Since its creation,its member nations have contributed to a total of fourteenth General Secretaries. Golam Sarwar from Bangladesh is the current Secretary-General of SAARC,having assumed charge on 4 March 2023.
Audrey Azoulay is a French-Moroccan civil servant and politician who has served as the 11th Director-General of the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 2017,becoming the second female leader of the organization. She previously served as France's Minister of Culture under Prime Ministers Manuel Valls and Bernard Cazeneuve from 2016 to 2017.
The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is an international coalition of countries,United Nations (UN) agencies,multilateral development banks,the private sector,and academic institutions,that aims to promote disaster-resilient infrastructure. Its objective is to promote research and knowledge sharing in the fields of infrastructure risk management,standards,financing,and recovery mechanisms. It was launched by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019.
Clashes between military forces belonging to the Kingdom of Morocco and the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR),represented at the United Nations by the Polisario Front,broke out in the disputed region of Western Sahara in November 2020. It was the latest escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region,which is largely occupied by Morocco,but 20–25% is administered by the SADR. The violence ended a ceasefire between the opposing sides that had held for 29 years in anticipation of a referendum of self-determination that would have settled the dispute. Despite the establishment of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara in 1991,the referendum was never held.
CisséMint Cheikh Ould Boide is a Mauritanian designated as Mauritania’s Ambassador to the United States in March 2021. Former permanent representative to the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNESCO in Paris and former Minister of Culture,Youth and Sports in Mauritania.
