Annan to appoint key adviser on Cyprus as new envoy for Western Sahara

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has announced his intention to appoint Alvaro de Soto of Peru, a key adviser on the Cyprus issue, as his new envoy for Western Sahara.

Bordered by Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria, the territory was administered by Spain until 1976. The UN has been seeking a peace settlement since the withdrawal of Spain and the ensuing fight between Morocco, which had "reintegrated" the territory, and the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y del Río de Oro (POLISARIO Front), which seeks self rule.

Mr. de Soto would replace William Lacy Swing of the United States as the Secretary-General's Special Representative and chief of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). Prior to this, he had been Mr. Annan's Special Adviser on Cyprus since 1999.

Before his Cyprus assignment, Mr. de Soto was Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and also spent 13 years in the Secretary-General's Office serving successively as Special Assistant, Executive Assistant and Senior Political Adviser to the Secretary-General.