Representation of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations

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Press Release

(New York, 11 April 2023) – The Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General informed yesterday that between 5 and 7 April a ground convoy of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) completed deliveries to two of the Mission’s Team Sites in the Liberated Sahrawi Territories.

The Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General also appreciated that safe passage was provided to the Mission to overcome some of the logistical challenges it is facing in reference to the goodwill gesture announced by the President of the Sahrawi Republic (SADR) and Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO, Mr Brahim Ghali, in his letter to the UN Secretary-General, Mr António Guterres, dated 29 March 2023.

In his letter, the President of the Sahrawi Republic (SADR) and Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO referred to the challenges facing MINURSO since the breaching and torpedoing by the occupying state of Morocco of the 1991 ceasefire on 13 November 2020. He stressed that the occupying state is the only party responsible for the multiple consequences resulting from its continued breach on the presence and operation of MINURSO in the Territory, including the regular and safe provision of its supplies, by land and air, and other logistical issues.

The President of the Sahrawi Republic (SADR) and Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO recalled that the Frente POLISARIO, despite the breakdown of the ceasefire and related military agreements, remained committed to ensuring the security and safety of MINURSO military observers stationed in the Liberated Sahrawi Territories and facilitating the operation of the Mission by providing regular safe passage to its resupply flights and linkup ground convoys, among other things.

In this spirit, the President of the Sahrawi Republic (SADR) and Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO announced that the Frente POLISARIO, as a gesture of goodwill to help MINURSO overcome some of the logistical challenges that it is facing, would provide safe passage, on an exceptional and provisional basis, to the Mission to conduct a logistical ground convoy to resupply its Team Sites in the Liberated Sahrawi Territories.

The UN Secretary-General and Members of the Security Council, especially the Permanent Members, expressed their appreciation and gratitude for this initiative as a demonstration of sincere support to MINURSO to overcome some of the logistical challenges that it is facing since the collapse of the ceasefire.

They also expressed hope that this would help create conditions that are conducive to supporting the efforts of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Mr Staffan de Mistura, to relaunch the UN-sponsored peace process in Western Sahara.

Based on a common understanding between the United Nations and the Frente POLISARIO, between 5 and 7 April, a MINURSO ground convoy delivered supplies to the Mission’s Team Sites in Tifariti and Mheiriz. Units of the Sahrawi Army (SPLA) escorted the convoy and ensured the security and safety of its personal throughout their transit and stay in the Liberated Sahrawi Territory.