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Russia affirms that any solution to Western Sahara conflict must respect Saharawi people’s self-determination and UN Charter

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New York (United Nations) 10 April 2020 (SPS)- The Russian Mission to the UN published a Tweet on its official Twitter Account yesterday after a closed meeting by the UN Security Council on Western Sahara, stressing that any solution to this conflict must respect Saharawi people’s right to self-determination and UN Charter.
“The final formula of settlement in Western Sahara must be acceptable for both parties; it should envisage self-determination for the people of Western Sahara on the basis of UNSC resolutions in the framework of procedures that should meet the goals and principles of the UN Charter,” the Tweet reads.
Polisario Front has also reacted to this same meeting in a Press Release yesterday, “deeply regreting that the UN Security Council today failed to send a clear signal regarding its united support for the UN-led peace process on Western Sahara. Today’s consultations on the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) offered another chance for the Council to stand strongly behind international law and reinvigorate the stalled political process. Instead, the Council opted for inaction and delivered no concrete action or outcome.”
The Front estimated that the “failure to make progress in the political process and the silence and inaction of the UN Secretariat and the Security Council in the face of Morocco’s unlawful and destabilising actions have further deepened the loss of faith amid the Sahrawi people in the peace process. Neither the UN Secretariat nor the Security Council has taken any of the actions that we have outlined in our letter (S/2020/66) with a view to restoring our people’s confidence in the UN process.”
The Frente POLISARIO “remains committed to a peaceful resolution to the conflict. However, we reaffirm that we will not be a partner in any process that does not fully respect and provide for the exercise by the people of Western Sahara of their inalienable right to self-determination and independence in accordance with relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. The right of our people to self-determination and independence is inalienable and non-negotiable, and we will pursue all legitimate means to defend it,” the Press release concluded. (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)