Written question asked by Derek Conway (Independent Conservative) on Tuesday, 9 February 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 February 2010. It was answered by Ivan Lewis (Labour) on Tuesday, 23 February 2010 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Western Sahara: Asylum

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) his Algerian counterpart and (b) the Polisario on the United Nations High Commission on Refugees' confidence-building measures programme for the Sahrawi refugee population in the Tindouf camps; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had discussions with either his Algerian counterpart or the Polisario on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) confidence building measures programme. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Officials in Algiers and London have discussed confidence building measures with the Polisario as part of their regular dialogue with all parties to the Western Sahara dispute. The most recent discussions took place in February between the Polisario and Foreign and Commonwealth Officials in London.My hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Bill Rammell), then Minister responsible for North Africa, did discuss UN led efforts to resolve the dispute over Western Sahara with Abdelqader Mesahel, Algerian Minister responsible for Maghreb Affairs, during the annual UK-Algeria political dialogue in December 2008. The Western Sahara dispute is again on the agenda for the next round of the UK-Algeria political dialogue, scheduled for 2 March.

Secondary information