New York (United States of America), Nov, 18 2020 (SPS) - The Republic of South Africa affirmed that the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is an international reality that cannot be surpassed.
‘’South Africa wishes to reiterate that the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a founding and full member state of the African Union, which was established on 9 July 2002’’ explained a letter dated 12 November 2020 from the Permanent Representative of South Africa to the President of UN Security Council.
Jerry Matthews Matjila, Ambassador Permanent Representative of South Africa added in his letter that ‘’our approach on the matter of Western Sahara is informed by the position of the African Union and the United Nations, which continues to view the question of Western Sahara as a decolonization issue’’
‘’South Africa has consistently supported the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, which is grounded in relevant African Union decisions and United Nations Security Council resolutions’’ He reiterated.
The letter concluded that ‘’ South Africa therefore supports the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, whose primary mandate, as established in Security Council resolution 690 (1991) and all subsequent resolutions, is the holding of a free and fair referendum on self-determination for the people of Western Sahara.SPS
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