New York (United Nations), 21 July 2019 (SPS) - Subsequent to the visit by the head of the Moroccan government to the occupied city of Dakhla, the Representative of the Frente POLISARIO to the United Nations, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Ammar, addressed a letter to H.E. Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The following is the full text of the letter:
“H.E. Mr António Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations
United Nations,
New York
New York, 20 July 2019
Your Excellency,
Upon instructions from my Authorities, I would like to bring to your attention the Frente POLISARIO’s strong condemnation of the visit that is being conducted by the head of the Moroccan government to the city of Dajla (Dakhla) in the part of Western Sahara under Morocco’s illegal occupation.
The visit of the Moroccan official to the occupied Western Sahara constitutes a violation of international law and a serious breach of the international legal status of the Territory as a Non-Self-Governing Territory under the full responsibility of the United Nations. It is also a demonstration of Morocco’s persistence in its policy of escalation, which will seriously increase tension in the Territory and exacerbate the situation on the ground.
As your Excellency is aware, the International Court of Justice clearly established, in its advisory opinion on Western Sahara of 1975, that no tie of territorial sovereignty had ever existed between Western Sahara and Morocco or Mauritania. In his legal opinion of 2002, issued at the request of the Security Council, the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs also reaffirmed unequivocally that Morocco does not exercise any sovereignty or administering power over Western Sahara.
Likewise, the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed, in its judgement of 21 December 2016, that Western Sahara has “a separate and distinct status” by virtue of the principle of self-determination, in relation to that of any State, including the Kingdom of Morocco. In accordance with its doctrine of not recognising as legal any territorial acquisition resulting from the use of force, the UN General Assembly has clearly defined Morocco’s presence in Western Sahara as an act of occupation by force (General Assembly Resolution 34/37 of 21 November 1979 and Resolution 35/19 of 11 November 1980).
For the past 28 years, Morocco has not only obstructed the holding of the UN-supervised self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, which was accepted by both parties the Frente POLISARIO and Morocco and approved by the Security Council. It has also engaged in sustained annexationist policies and actions aimed at entrenching its militarily imposed occupation and illegal annexation of parts of Western Sahara.
Morocco’s persistence in its expansionism and policy of escalation risk undermining the efforts deployed by the United Nations under your auspices with a view to achieving a just and lasting solution that will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, as called for by numerous resolutions of the Security Council.
The United Nations should assume its responsibility and take all necessary measures to stop Morocco’s provocative actions that put the credibility and authority of the United Nations at stake. We urgently call on you in your capacity as Secretary-General to use your authority to compel Morocco to desist from its destabilising actions that imperil peace and security in the whole region and undermine the prospects for advancing the already fragile UN peace process in Western Sahara.
I would be most grateful if you would bring this letter to the attention of the Members of the Security Council.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.
Dr Sidi M. Omar
Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations” (SPS)
062/SPS