Chahid Elhafed (Saharawi Republic) 22 September 2022 (SPS)- The Saharawi cause is gaining unprecedented support which continues to grow throughout the world, including through the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with some countries showing their commitment to respect international law and the right to self-determination and sovereignty of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), and through the presence of the cause in debates and media worldwide.
The new diplomatic victories achieved by the Polisario Front on the international scene are illustrated in particular in Africa by the announcement on Tuesday of the Permanent Mission of South Sudan to the United Nations in a declaration to restore diplomatic relations between Juba and SADR (suspended in 2018) after a meeting between the Vice-President of South Sudan, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol, and the head of Sahrawi diplomacy, Mohamed Salem Ould Salek, on the sidelines of the work of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
A few days earlier, Kenya had assured in a statement that its position on the Sahrawi Republic is fully in line with the African Union (AU) Charter and UN Security Council Resolution 690, which claims the indisputable and inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination through the organisation of a free and fair referendum led by the UN and the AU. “Kenya supports to the letter the implementation of this UN Security Council resolution,” he insisted.
In Latin America, Peru has repeatedly reaffirmed the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with SADR and its support for the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination.
The last of these, on Tuesday, through the voice of its president Pedro Castillo Terrones, in his speech to the UN General Assembly: “Peru has re-established diplomatic relations with SADR and strongly supports its right to self-determination. We give our broad support to the actions undertaken by the representative of the UN Secretary General (Staffan de Mistura) to re-establish the cease-fire in Western Sahara and to promote a negotiated and peaceful solution”, he affirmed.
And last August, Colombia had taken the initiative of announcing the decision to resume diplomatic relations with the Saharawi Republic, in accordance with the principles and objectives of the United Nations Charter and the agreement concluded between the two countries on 27 February 1985, following the audience granted by the Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, to the Saharawi Minister Ould Salek.
Morocco suffers another setback
On the legal front, the recent decision of the French Council of State, on the initiative of the Confédération paysanne, concerning agricultural imports from the territory of occupied Western Sahara, has further strengthened the position of the Polisario Front, which warmly welcomed it.
The Confédération paysanne had asked the French government to issue a decree banning the import of cherry tomatoes and melons harvested in occupied Saharawi territory, on the grounds that Western Sahara does not belong to the Kingdom of Morocco, as ruled by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in 2016 and 2018, underlining that “the presentation of these products as originating in Morocco violates EU law and the decisions of the Court”.
“The Council of State rejected the arguments of the French authorities and decided, as requested by the Confédération paysanne, that this case should be referred to the CJEU to determine whether, according to European law, the Moroccan authorities are not competent to issue certificates of conformity allowing these agricultural products access to the European market,” the Polisario Front said.
It should also be recalled that the Makhzen reaction, following the participation of the Saharawi President Brahim Ghali at the 8th International Conference on African Development (TICAD8) held in Tunis, and the warm welcome he received, demonstrates the feeling of failure to achieve the objectives of its accession to the African Union (AU) in 2017.
Indeed, Morocco, which had opted for the policy of the empty chair, intended, through its practices, to execute subversive external agendas aimed at peace and stability in the region, but also to undermine the cohesion and unity of the countries and peoples of the African Union. (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)