New York (United Nations) 12 October 2022 (SPS)- The Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Philip Odida, called on the UN to implement the OAU-UN Settlement Plan and hold a referendum on self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, in his country’s statement, Yesterday before the UN 4th Committee.
Uganda, he said, “calls on the UN to implement the existing legal framework on decolonization that clearly defines the roadmap for the process as encapsulated in the UN-OAU peace plan with a view to holding, without further delay, the self-determination referendum of the people of Western Sahara.”
He further stressed that his delegation “renew our call upon the Special Committee to undertake as early as possible, a visiting mission to Western Sahara, while bearing in mind that the last such mission was conducted many years ago.”
“The 4th Committee should uphold the primary responsibility of the United Nations towards the People of Western Sahara whose plight remains unresolved in the context of the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples,” he added.
He also called on the United Nations, through its 4th Committee, “to actively support all efforts of the African Union aimed at reaching a peaceful and lasting solution between the parties in line not only with the UN mandates but also with the objectives and principles set out in the AU Constitutive Act and all other relevant AU resolutions.” (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)