Dili (Timor-Leste) - August 31, 2024 (SPS) - On the sidelines of his participation in the 25th anniversary of the referendum for self-determination in Timor-Leste, President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, met Friday with Mr. António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The President of the Republic congratulated Mr. Guterres on the honor he received from the Timorese people and its government, as well as for being granted honorary citizenship in recognition of his efforts to complete the decolonization process in Timor-Leste when he was Prime Minister of Portugal, the administering power until the popular consultation on August 30, 1999.
President Brahim Ghali, while congratulating the Timorese people, reminded them that the Western Sahara issue and the Timor-Leste issue are similar in their legal nature, historically concurrent, and alike in their origins. However, the Sahrawi people are still waiting for the opportunity to enjoy a day of democracy where they can freely choose their destiny, just as the Timorese people did twenty-five years ago.
President Brahim Ghali also reviewed the latest developments regarding the Sahrawi cause, focusing on the serious situation in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, particularly the ongoing demolition of Sahrawi citizens' homes and the seizure of their lands under a severe blockade.
He reiterated the required and necessary role of the MINURSO mission in reporting severe human rights violations and the UN's responsibility to protect unarmed civilians and stop the plundering of natural resources, as Western Sahara is under the direct responsibility of the UN body.
The UN Secretary-General welcomed the Sahrawi President and thanked him for his congratulations, reaffirming his commitment to work in all possible ways to reach a solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, in line with UN resolutions, to enable the Sahrawi people to exercise their right to self-determination.