New York (United Nations) 15 June 2021 (SPS)- Frente Polisario Representative to the UN, Dr. Sidi Omar, called on the UN General Assembly’s Committee of 24 (C-24) to implement General Assembly’s resolution 1514 in Western Sahara, recalling that sovereignty over the territory is exclusive to the Saharawi people, in his statement before the Committee’s meeting yesterday.
He further recalled that the failure of the UN to resolve this decolonization conflict so far is due to “the inaction and complacency of the international community that have emboldened the Moroccan occupying state to continue, with complete impunity, to violate UN resolutions and every rule of international law and international humanitarian law in the illegally occupied parts of Western Sahara and even violate the ceasefire and ignite a new war in the region. It is as simple as that, unfortunately.”
Following is the full text of the Statement:
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Statement of the Frente POLISARIO on Western Sahara Ambassador Sidi Omar
C-24 Substantive Session
New York, 14 June 2021
Madam Chair,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address the Special Committee on behalf of the Frente POLISARIO, the legitimate representative of the people of the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Western Sahara in line with relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions.
Distinguished Members of the Committee and Representatives of Member States,
Your session today takes place at a time when Western Sahara is witnessing serious developments that could have dire consequences for peace, security, and stability in the entire region.
On early 13 November last year, in flagrant violation of the 1991 ceasefire and Security Council resolutions, the Moroccan occupying state moved its armed forces into the Buffer Strip in Guerguerat in the Liberated Territory of Western Sahara and attacked a group of Sahrawi civilians who were protesting peacefully against Morocco’s illegal occupation of our land.
Faced with the Moroccan new act of aggression, which continues with complete impunity, the Sahrawi people, under the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO, were left with no option but to exercise our legitimate right to self-defence.
Today, after almost thirty years since the deployment of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) in the Territory, there is no referendum on self-determination and there is no ceasefire. There is only war for which the Moroccan occupying state is fully responsible.
Now, why did we get to where we are today?
The answer is simple. We are where we are today because the Moroccan occupying state has been allowed with impunity to block the holding of the free and fair referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people, which was mutually accepted by both parties and approved by the Security Council and the General Assembly, and to which the Moroccan occupying state itself had committed for many years before backtracking for fear of losing the vote.
We are where we are today, Ladies and Gentlemen, because the international community has chosen to turn a blind eye to the unspeakable human rights violations to which Sahrawi civilians are being subjected daily in the occupied Western Sahara at the hands of Moroccan occupying state and to its attempts to impose a fait accompli by force in the Territory.
To sum up, it is the inaction and complacency of the international community that have emboldened the Moroccan occupying state to continue, with complete impunity, to violate UN resolutions and every rule of international law and international humanitarian law in the illegally occupied parts of Western Sahara and even violate the ceasefire and ignite a new war in the region. It is as simple as that, unfortunately. Ladies and Gentlemen,
For three decades, we have been committed to the peaceful solution and we have constructively engaged in the UN peace process demonstrating patience, utmost restraint, and flexibility, despite the provocations and all the injustices that our people continue to endure at the hands of the Moroccan occupying state.
Today, the Sahrawi people, under the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO, are saying loud and clear that enough is enough. Yes, we remain committed to peace, but we will never give up our inalienable and non-negotiable right to self-determination and independence.
Let me also underscore that sovereignty over Western Sahara is not a commodity to be traded in Wall Street Market or elsewhere. It is the exclusive right of the Sahrawi people, and our people, under the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO, will use all legitimate means to defend our sovereignty. The occupying state should make no mistake about this.
The legal nature of Western Sahara as a decolonisation issue on the agenda of this Committee since 1963 is abundantly clear, despite the futile attempts of the occupying power and its apologists to demonstrate otherwise. Therefore, given the gravity of the current situation, efforts should be redoubled to allow the people of Western Sahara the chance to exercise freely and democratically their right to self- determination and independence.
This is not too much to ask from a committee that was established by the United Nations to oversee the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
Thank you!” (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)