Managua (Nicaragua), May 25, 2015 (SPS) - The participants in the regional Conference of the UN Special Committee on Decolonization (the Committee of 24,) held recently in Managua, Nicaragua, has renewed called for the completion of the decolonization process in Western Sahara through the organization of a free and transparent referendum allowing the people of Western Sahara to exercise freely their right to self-determination.
Refuting the Moroccan attempts to misrepresent the question of Western Sahara, the representatives of Venezuela, Ecuador, Cuba, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea recalled "the colonial character" of the current status of Western Sahara.
They insisted on "the UN's responsibility to end this situation of occupation and colonization."
The UN was also called upon "to ensure without delay the implementation of relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, which enshrine the inalienable right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and independence."
Violations of human rights in the occupied territories of Western Sahara and the illegal exploitation of the natural resources of the territory were the focus of attention of the participants in the Conference, who stressed the particular responsibility of the UN in this regard.
Finally, the participants demanded the Committee of Decolonization to put into practice resolution 1514 (XV) on the issue of Western Sahara, containing a declaration on the Granting of Independence to colonial Countries and Peoples and supported. (SPS)
062/090/TRA