New York (United Nations), June 14, 2024 (SPS) - African countries have renewed their demand for the full implementation of the joint settlement plan between the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity, which was adopted by the UN Security Council in 1991, during the statements they made before the substantive session of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (the Committee of 24) which began its work on Monday at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
The representative of Angola stressed his country's principled position rejecting colonialism in all its forms and manifestations and supporting the right of colonial peoples to self-determination and independence. In this context, he mentioned that Western Sahara is the only country in Africa that has not yet obtained its freedom and affirmed that his country supports the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, independence and permanent sovereignty over their natural resources.
The representative of Namibia stated that through the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, the United Nations affirmed its special responsibility towards the Sahrawi people, and affirmed that her country remains committed to the priority of the right to self-determination and remains unequivocal in its continued support for the people of Western Sahara in their pursuit of this inalienable right.
The representative of South Africa, in turn, pointed out that Western Sahara is the last remaining colony on the African continent, and once again reaffirmed his country's support for the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence in accordance with the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and other relevant resolutions, and the legal opinion of the International Court of Justice (1975) and the decisions of the African Union.
The representative of Zimbabwe mentioned that the issue of Western Sahara has been on the agenda of the Fourth Committee of the United Nations since 1963, and that the situation in Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa, is a bitter reminder of the obstacles to the implementation of the United Nations settlement plan through a referendum supervised by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
The representative of Mozambique referred to Security Council resolution 690 of 1991, which established the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to organize a self-determination referendum in Western Sahara, and affirmed his country's support for the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence.