Some Speakers Support Morocco's Claim over Western Sahara While Others Back Sahrawi People’s Right to Self-Determination, as Decolonization Committee Continues Session
The long-standing question of decolonizing Western Sahara took centre stage today, as the Special Committee on Decolonization heard impassioned statements from petitioners and delegates alike that reflected divergent views. Underscoring the role of the United Nations in resolving this question, some voiced support for Morocco’s claim of sovereignty over the Western Sahara and lauded its development efforts, while others argued for the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.
“Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, proposed to the United Nations in 2007, offers a pragmatic, balanced and dignified way forward” by granting the Moroccan Sahara “a high degree of autonomy”, said Ghalla Bahyia, an elected representative of the Dakhla-Oued Dahab region. Highlighting major investments in the Dakhla region’s infrastructure, renewable energy, agriculture and social development, she described it as one of “Morocco’s most dynamic growth poles and a future economic gateway to Africa”.
Also, highlighting the significant infrastructure development in the Moroccan Sahara, M’hamed Abba, representing the Regional Council of Laâyoune-Sakia al Hamra, underscored the region’s investment in people, with over 36.5 million dirhams allocated to education, healthcare and youth engagement. Citing King Mohammed VI, he called on the United Nations to “assume its responsibility and recognize the difference between the dynamic reality of inclusive development and a static vision anchored in outdated narratives”.
However, several speakers countered this narrative, with Sidi Mohamed Omar, representative of the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y de Río de Oro (Frente POLISARIO), describing the “colonialist ‘proposal’” propagated by Morocco as “no more than a travesty and a manoeuvre through which the occupying State tries to ‘legitimize’ its illegal occupation of Western Sahara”. Urging the international community to act, he warned that complacency and inaction would embolden the occupying State “to persist in its misguided belief that it can impose a fait accompli by force in Occupied Western Sahara”.
“We are not Moroccan, and we will never be Moroccans. Our identity is not for sale,” said Mouhidine Souvi, a petitioner, describing Morocco’s establishment of “fake consulates” in occupied territories as part of “mere political theatrics”. He warned against continued inaction and condemned Morocco and its allies’ attempts to impose its will by force, demanding the right to self-determination through a free and fair referendum.
Calls to Protect Human Rights
Detailing the widespread human rights violations occurring in Western Sahara under the Moroccan occupation, Ahmed Mohammed Fall, representing Codesa, said the group’s members “face oppression, retaliation, siege and isolation […]” for documenting the grave abuses that are committed in the region. He called for urgent international action to uphold humanitarian law, including establishment of a UN protection mechanism.
Adding to that, Mohammed Abbadi from FreedomSun Organization for the Protection of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders, said that the exercise of peaceful expression, participation in protests and the voicing of opposition to the policies of the Moroccan occupation has become severely restricted. “Today, we call on the Committee to take a stand,” he declared, urging the Committee to protect human rights defenders, demand the release of all Sahrawi political prisoners, and allow the Sahrawi people exercise of their right to self-determination.
Focus on Situation in Tindouf Refugee Camps
The situation in Tindouf camps also came into the spotlight, with Touria Hmyene describing how, for nearly five decades, women in the camps have lived in a “state of limbo”, facing forced marriage, gender-based violence and restrictions on movement and expression. Highlighting the complicity of the host State, she called on the international community to demand an independent investigation into systemic abuse.
Similarly, Zine el Aabidine el Ouali, a petitioner representing the African Forum for Research and Studies in Human Rights, drew attention to the transfer, looting and sale of humanitarian assistance, as well as the recruitment of children in the Tindouf camps. He called on Algeria to allow the holding of an official and transparent referendum for residents of the camps, open independent investigations into the grave violations perpetrated there and to hold perpetrators accountable.
“Frente POLISARIO is not a voice for peace, it is rather an armed separatist group that has repeatedly resorted to terrorist tactics, repression and ideological manipulation,” emphasized Saad Bennani. It operates from the Tindouf camps, where basic freedoms are systematically denied and where people are held against their will, he stressed, accusing the group of recruiting child soldiers, violating international ceasefires and maintaining ties with criminal networks across the Sahel. “Supporting POLISARIO means endorsing perpetual instability and terrorism,” he stated.
Last Vestiges of Colonialism Must Be Eradicated
In the ensuing debate, Algeria’s representative said that “the United Nations must take resolute action to eradicate the last vestiges of colonialism”. After six decades, the promise of a referendum has yet to be realized despite Council resolution 2229 (2015), which reaffirmed the fundamental right to self-determination. Moreover, the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), established some four decades ago, continues to struggle to organize that referendum. Nonetheless, international law on this matter is clear, he said, pointing to the historic 1965 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which ruled out any legal ties between Western Sahara and Morocco.
He encouraged the Committee “to use all levers” at its disposal to finally conclude this decolonization process. “We have one path forward: that is the immediate resumption of direct negotiations and substantive negotiations between Morocco and the POLISARIO,” he said. This is to achieve a just and lasting solution which guarantees the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
Pragmatic, Realistic, Lasting Political Solution Based on Compromise
Taking a different stance, the representative of Morocco pointed to a “positive international dynamic in favour of a pragmatic realistic, lasting, political solution based on compromise”. Central to it, she said, was the Moroccan Autonomy Plan supported by over 118 countries throughout the world, including former colonial Powers of the region, as well as three permanent Security Council members. Despite this backing, the Committee continues “to erroneously limit the question of the Sahara to a decolonization matter”, which fails to reflect the historic reality on the ground and the evolution of this dossier.
She urged the Committee to take into account the evolution of international legal norms and frameworks, warning that “the process led by the Secretary-General […] cannot be held hostage by the obstinacy and intransigence of a single country to the detriment of regional stability”.
In the discussion that followed, several countries called on all stakeholders to engage in the political process under the auspices of the United Nations. Among them was the representative of Venezuela who underscored the “absolute need” to act as soon as possible “to preserve and safeguard the political horizon” in order to alleviate the suffering and frustration of the Sahrawi people. Nicaragua’s delegate called for the resumption of negotiations between the parties “without prior conditions and in good faith”, emphasizing that the question of Western Sahara is not an isolated case, but “part of the global battle against colonialism”.
Solidarity with People of Western Sahara
Several speakers, including the representatives of Zimbabwe and Namibia, recalled their countries’ struggle against colonialism, and expressed solidarity with the people of Western Sahara — the last remaining colony on the African continent — in their struggle for freedom, independence and self-determination.
MINURSO has failed to deliver on its core mandate of holding of a referendum, stressed South Africa’s representative. “The United Nations must take urgent steps towards holding this long-promised referendum on self-determination so that the Saharawi people can determine their destiny,” he said.
Some speakers also criticized the illegal exploitation of the natural resources of Western Sahara, with Timor-Leste’s delegate stressing that economic interests “have complicated the political process and contributed to the perpetuation of the status quo”. Belize’s representative pointed out that, notwithstanding its colonial history, its people were not denied the right to its natural resources. “We endeavour to see the same for the Sahrawi people, secure in their homeland, with a future that they determine themselves.”
Support for Moroccan Autonomy Plan
Many other delegations, including Saint Lucia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Togo, Comoros and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, voiced support for the Moroccan Autonomy plan as a basis for the “realistic and predictable solution” to the stability and peace in the region. Several also called on Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania and Frente POLISARIO to remain engaged in the political process.
The representative of Antigua and Barbuda noted that a recent endorsement of the plan by another UN Security Council member further reinforced the proposal’s legitimacy as a “viable pathway forward”, while the reprepsenative of the Dominican Republic urged all parties to harness the momuntum behind the intiatitive to achieve a lasting and mutually acceptable solution.
“The Moroccan initiative offers a constructive avenue through which to resolve this regional dispute,” said Equatorial Guinea’s representative, commending Morocco’s socioeconomic development efforts in Western Sahara, “designed to further sustainable development, environmental protection and the promotion of local culture”.
Similarly, the speaker for Guinea-Bissau said that the commitment of the Government of Morocco to the well-being of the people of Moroccan Sahara encouraged his country to open a consulate in Laayoune and Dakhla. He also voiced concerns about the security of people in Tindouf camps, condemning all forms of human rights violations, especially of women and children.
The delegate of Kuwait, speaking on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, welcomed the UN’s continued efforts to resolve the dispute, including those of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy Staffan de Mistura. Underscoring the importance of protecting Morocco’s security and territorial integrity, he called for a proper environment that will facilitate the resumption of dialogue.
Role of United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)
Speakers for several troop-contributing countries, such as Mexico and Indonesia, said MINURSO is an important guarantor of stability and the ceasefire in the region. “We believe it is important for the Mission to maintain the authorized troop ceiling to discharge its mandate fully,” said the representative of Mexico, with Indonesia’s delegate stressing the importance of assessments being informed by “timely and balanced information directly from the ground”.
Morocco’s representative, on a point of order, took the floor during today’s meeting to request the Committee Chair to stop petitioners from speaking if they attack the institutions of Member States. The representatives of Algeria and South Africa also took the floor.