SAHRAWI ARAB DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATION AND AFRICAN AFFAIRS COMMUNIQUÉ

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The Ministry of International Relations and African Affairsof the Sahrawi Republic has taken note of the UK-Morocco Joint Communiqué published today, in particular the section concerning Western Sahara.

The Ministry of International Relations and African Affairs
of the Sahrawi Republic notes that the UK makes it clear that it does not
recognise any sovereignty for Morocco, the occupying state, over Western Sahara. The UK further reaffirms the paramount importance of a rules-based international order and the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations as well as its support for the principle of respect for self-determination.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of International Relations
and African Affairs of the Sahrawi Republic expresses its deep regret and
disappointment that the UK, as a Permanent Member of the Security Council, has chosen to consider the so-called Moroccan “proposal” in terms that are a variance with the UK long-standing position concerning Western Sahara, a decolonisation
issue on the UN agenda since 1963.

The Ministry of International Relations and African Affairs
of the Sahrawi Republic underlines that all international and regional
organisations and courts do not recognise any sovereignty for Morocco, the occupying state, over Western Sahara. It further underscores that the only
compromise-based, practical and reasonable solution is the UN-OAU Settlement Plan, which was mutually accepted by both parties, the Frente POLISARIO and Morocco, in 1988 and approved unanimously by the Security Council in 1990 and 1991.

The Ministry of International Relations and African Affairs
of the Sahrawi Republic reiterates that the “proposal” propagated by Morocco, the occupying state, is no more than a travesty and a colonialist manoeuvre whose sole aim is to “legitimise” the illegal occupation of Western Sahara and to deprive its people of their inalienable right to self-determination and
independence.

The Ministry of International Relations and African Affairs
of the Sahrawi Republic stresses that encouraging the two parties to the
conflict, the Frente POLISARIO and Morocco, to engage positively with the UN-led political process is utterly inconsistent with supporting the so-called Moroccan “proposal” that leads only to emboldening the
occupying state to persist in its intransigence, which is the root cause of the present deadlock in the UN peace process.

Furthermore, since the Security Council also takes note of the proposal presented by the Frente POLISARIO in 2007, singling out the Moroccan “proposal” in this regard can hardly be considered compatible with the principles of impartiality and neutrality.

The Ministry of International Relations and African Affairs
of the Sahrawi Republic reminds
all stakeholders that are genuinely concerned about stability of North Africa that enduring peace in our region can never be achieved by rewarding expansionism and
the acquisition of territory by force but by defending the fundamental principles of international law, including peoples’ sacrosanct right to self-determination.

In this regard, the
Ministry of International Relations and African Affairs of the Sahrawi Republic

hopes that the UK can still use
its influence to encourage a meaningful UN peace process in Western Sahara that
would enable the Sahrawi people to exercise freely and democratically, without
any military and administrative constraints, their inalienable right to
self-determination and independence.

In concluding, the Ministry of International Relations
and African Affairs of the Sahrawi Republic reiterates the Frente POLISARIO’s readiness to
engage positively in the UN-led peace process and to contribute constructively
to the achievement of a peaceful and lasting solution to the decolonisation of
Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa. In the meantime, it underscores the
unwavering determination and commitment of the Sahrawi people to the fulfilment
of their legitimate national aspirations for freedom and independence.

Bir Lehlou, 1 June 2025