Statement of the Frente POLISARIO on Western Sahara

Statement of the Frente POLISARIO on Western Sahara
Ambassador Sidi Omar
C-24 Substantive Session
New York, 14 June 2021
Madam Chair,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address the Special Committee on
behalf of the Frente POLISARIO, the legitimate representative of the people of the
Non-Self-Governing Territory of Western Sahara in line with relevant General
Assembly and Security Council resolutions.
Distinguished Members of the Committee and Representatives of Member
States,
Your session today takes place at a time when Western Sahara is witnessing
serious developments that could have dire consequences for peace, security, and
stability in the entire region.
On early 13 November last year, in flagrant violation of the 1991 ceasefire and
Security Council resolutions, the Moroccan occupying state moved its armed forces
into the Buffer Strip in Guerguerat in the Liberated Territory of Western Sahara and
attacked a group of Sahrawi civilians who were protesting peacefully against
Morocco’s illegal occupation of our land.
Faced with the Moroccan new act of aggression, which continues with complete
impunity, the Sahrawi people, under the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO, were
left with no option but to exercise our legitimate right to self-defence.
Today, after almost thirty years since the deployment of the United Nations
Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) in the Territory, there is
no referendum on self-determination and there is no ceasefire. There is only war for
which the Moroccan occupying state is fully responsible.
Now, why did we get to where we are today?
The answer is simple. We are where we are today because the Moroccan
occupying state has been allowed with impunity to block the holding of the free and
fair referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people, which was mutually
accepted by both parties and approved by the Security Council and the General
Assembly, and to which the Moroccan occupying state itself had committed for many
years before backtracking for fear of losing the vote. 2
We are where we are today, Ladies and Gentlemen, because the international
community has chosen to turn a blind eye to the unspeakable human rights violations
to which Sahrawi civilians are being subjected daily in the occupied Western Sahara
at the hands of Moroccan occupying state and to its attempts to impose a fait accompli
by force in the Territory.
To sum up, it is the inaction and complacency of the international community
that have emboldened the Moroccan occupying state to continue, with complete
impunity, to violate UN resolutions and every rule of international law and international
humanitarian law in the illegally occupied parts of Western Sahara and even violate
the ceasefire and ignite a new war in the region. It is as simple as that, unfortunately.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For three decades, we have been committed to the peaceful solution and we
have constructively engaged in the UN peace process demonstrating patience, utmost
restraint, and flexibility, despite the provocations and all the injustices that our people
continue to endure at the hands of the Moroccan occupying state.
Today, the Sahrawi people, under the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO, are
saying loud and clear that enough is enough. Yes, we remain committed to peace, but
we will never give up our inalienable and non-negotiable right to self-determination
and independence.
Let me also underscore that sovereignty over Western Sahara is not a
commodity to be traded in Wall Street Market or elsewhere. It is the exclusive right of
the Sahrawi people, and our people, under the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO,
will use all legitimate means to defend our sovereignty. The occupying state should
make no mistake about this.
The legal nature of Western Sahara as a decolonisation issue on the agenda
of this Committee since 1963 is abundantly clear, despite the futile attempts of the
occupying power and its apologists to demonstrate otherwise. Therefore, given the
gravity of the current situation, efforts should be redoubled to allow the people of
Western Sahara the chance to exercise freely and democratically their right to selfdetermination and independence.
This is not too much to ask from a committee that was established by the United
Nations to oversee the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of
Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
Thank you