Kampala (Uganda), January 18, 2024 (SPS) - The preparatory ministerial meeting for the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement, taking place in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on Wednesday and Thursday, witnessed extensive interventions by many delegations that renewed their support for the Western Sahara issue, stressing the need to enable the Sahrawi people to exercise their right to self-determination.
During her speech at the opening session of the ministerial meeting, the Vice President of the Republic of Uganda, Jessica Alupo, whose country holds the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement for the next three years, called for the Non-Aligned Movement to continue its support for the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
The foreign ministers of South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Cuba also called to accelerate the decolonization across the world, especially enabling the people of Western Sahara to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination.
For his part, the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, appreciated the Non-Aligned Movement’s firm and rooted position in supporting the inalienable and imprescriptible right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination in accordance with what is stipulated in the relevant United Nations resolutions issued either by the Security Council or by the United Nations General Assembly.
This momentum in the Sahrawi issue comes in line with the historical role played by the Non-Aligned Movement in supporting liberation and decolonization movements in many regions around the world, which was reflected in the interventions of many ministerial delegations during the preparatory meeting for the summit, in addition to the final document of this summit, which includes explicit support for the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations regarding Western Sahara.
It is also expected that the heads of state and government of the Non-Aligned Movement will reaffirm during this summit the historical responsibility of the United Nations towards the Sahrawi people and their strong support for the efforts made by the Secretary-General and his personal envoy to achieve a political solution acceptable to both parties to the conflict, leading to self-determination for the people of Western Sahara in accordance with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) of December 14, 1960, and other relevant resolutions.
(SPS)