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Special Committee on Decolonization reiterates right of Sahrawi people to self-determination, legal status of Western Sahara as decolonization issue

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New York (United Nations), September 21, 2018 (SPS) - The Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, in its annual report of 2018 submitted to the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, has reaffirmed the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1514 on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples, as well as the legal status of Western Sahara as a decolonization issue.
The Committee recalled, at the outset of its recommendation on Western Sahara, the mandate of the Special Committee towards the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, which blocked all attempts and solutions aimed at the confiscation of the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence. The Committee also reaffirmed all General Assembly and Security Council resolutions on Western Sahara as well as the commitment of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to resolve the issue in the context of direct negotiations between the parties to the conflict under the auspices of the Secretary-General without preconditions and in good faith with a view to achieving a just and lasting political solution that guarantees the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
The position of the Special Committee on Decolonization which emphasized the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and the legal status of Western Sahara as a decolonization issue, also constituted a reaffirmation of the position of the international community on the Sahrawi issue at a time when significant developments were taking place at the level of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council.
It should be recalled that the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) will hold its annual session in early October, where it is scheduled to address the issue of Western Sahara as a decolonization problem which has been on the Committee's agenda since 1963. The Committee will also listen to a large number of interventions on the issue. (SPS)
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