New York (United Nations), 4 February 2024 (SPS) – In a press release issued today, Dr Sidi Mohamed Omar, Member of the National Secretariat and Representative of the Frente POLISARIO to the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSO, stressed that the visit of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara to South Africa falls within the scope of his mandate, especially given South Africa’s strong commitment to a rules-based international order, as well as its support for and promotion of peaceful and just solutions to conflicts in Africa and beyond.
The statement by the representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSO was made in response to the statement made yesterday by the representative of the occupying state of Morocco to the United Nations, in which he declared his opposition to South Africa’s hosting of Mr de Mistura. The Sahrawi diplomat stressed that it is within the mandate of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara to engage with Member States, and that the Personal Envoy represents the United Nations and is accountable to it, and not to the occupying state of Morocco.
The following is the full text of the press release, a copy of which was obtained by SPS:
New York, 4 February 2024
PRESS RELEASE
The visit of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara to the Republic of South Africa
Invited by the Government of the Republic of South Africa, the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Mr Staffan de Mistura, paid a visit to Pretoria on 31 January 2024 where he held meetings with South African senior officials on the issue of Western Sahara.
Yesterday, the representative of the occupying state of Morocco to the United Nations, notorious for his tactless remarks and provocative behaviour, openly opposed South Africa’s hosting of Mr de Mistura. He even dared to make unwarranted insinuations as to the Personal Envoy’s “assessment” of the situation, and suggested insolently that the Personal Envoy should have obtained prior “authorisation” from the occupying state of Morocco to conduct his visit.
The representative of the occupying state of Morocco should know that it is within the mandate of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara to engage with Member States, as confirmed recently by the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, and that the Personal Envoy represents and is accountable to the United Nations, not to the occupying state of Morocco.
Since his appointment as Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara on 6 October 2021, Mr de Mistura visited several countries. His visit to Pretoria therefore falls within his mandate, especially considering South Africa’s strong commitment to a rules-based international order as well as its support for and promotion of peaceful and just solutions to conflicts in Africa and beyond.
South Africa’s unwavering defence of the decolonisation of Western Sahara and its strong solidarity with the Sahrawi peoples testify to its strong commitment to peoples’ inalienable right to self-determination and freedom in line with relevant precepts of international law. The application presented recently by South Africa before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel for its ongoing genocidal war against the Palestinian people is just one such example of that commitment to the centrality of the rule of law and firm opposition to impunity.
The rogue state of Morocco is in no position to preach to others about international law because it continues to illegally occupy parts of Western Sahara, which is on the agenda of the United Nations as a decolonisation issue. Moreover, it is well known that, at the same time as South Africa is taking bold steps to hold Israel accountable for its continued crimes in Palestine, the occupying state of Morocco, whilst shedding crocodile tears for the Palestinian people, is doing everything in its power to undermine the Palestinian legitimate rights through overt collusion with the Israeli occupation.
It is beyond any doubt that the occupying state of Morocco has no political will whatsoever to engage seriously and responsibly in the UN peace process in Western Sahara. The blackmailing and threatening language used by the representative of the occupying state of Morocco in relation to Mr de Mistura’s visit to South Africa is therefore another example of the calculated and underhanded tactics employed by the occupying sate of Morocco vis-à-vis former Personal Envoys of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, leading most of them to resign for one reason or another.
In concluding, the Frente POLISARIO reiterates its commitment to cooperating with the efforts of both the United Nations and the African Union with a view to bringing to conclusion the decolonisation of Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa. Equally, the Frente POLISARIO strongly reaffirms its unwavering commitment to defending, by all legitimate means, the inalienable, non-negotiable, and imprescriptible right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence.
Dr Sidi M. Omar
Ambassador, Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations, and Coordinator with MINURSO