New York, Oct 3, 2017 (SPS) - Algeria reiterated in New York its traditional positions and support to the right of peoples under colonial domination to self-determination, including the Sahrawi people.
In its speech to the Committee of the General Assembly on Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Issues, the Algerian delegation said that the self-determination principle is provided for by the UN Charter and reaffirmed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Algeria delegation spoke at the official session of the Third Committee devoted to the examination of item 71 of its agenda on the right to self-determination.
In response to the statements made by the Algerian delegation, the representative of Morocco reiterated his misleading allegations aiming to unfoundedly underline the evolving nature of the right to self-determination towards "autonomy, implemented in many countries.”
Reacting to these allegations, the Algerian delegation reaffirmed that despite Morocco’s attacks, Algeria continuously reiterates its constant position in favour of the self-determination of the Sahrawi people.
The work of the Committee continued with the examination of item 64 of the agenda on refugees and displaced persons. The Algerian delegation reaffirmed Algeria's support and solidarity with countries experiencing crises in their immediate neighborhood and beyond.
The delegation also recalled that Algeria continues to host Sahrawi refugees in Tinfoud. These refugees have been waiting for 40 years for safe and dignified repatriation to their homeland, as well as the exercise of their legitimate right to self determination.
Algeria thanked the contributing countries and urged the international community to mobilize more aids for the benefit of the Sahrawi refugees, which totally depend on humanitarian aid.
In addition to the Sahrawi population, Algeria hosts a large number of refugees from Syria, Libya, Mali and other countries.
During the meeting, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative Mohammed Bessedik straightened out the representative of Morocco, much of whose statement was devoted to the situation of Sahrawi refugees in Tindouf.
“Algeria has been and is a host country for refugees because this principle is one of the foundations of its foreign policy,” said Bessedik, who denounced the fact that "the executioner appears in the skin of the victim" and recalled that the forced and illegal occupation of Western Sahara is the origin of the conflict in this territory.
The numerous legal decisions on to this conflict and the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, as well as the various reports of the UN Secretary General, refer to this territory as non-self-governing, concerned by the implementation of the right to self-determination, Bessedik stressed.
The Algerian official recalled the "shameful" division of the Sahrawi territory, a division that contradicts the Moroccan thesis and the sacredness of the territory.
He also referred to "the large-scale massacres perpetrated by Morocco in Western Sahara since the alleged Green March, which actually was an invasion by force that led to lots of massacres, disappearances, killings and assassinations, and hundreds of thousands of refugees flocking to Algeria."
The same official also noted that Morocco is the only country in the world that claims that the Sahrawi refugees are "sequestered" in Tindouf and continues, at the same time, to call the community international community not to assist them but rather to starve them.
Bessedik recalled that Morocco is an occupying power and does not even have the status of administering power. (SPS)
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