New York (United Nations), 8 October 2024 (SPS) - In his statement yesterday before the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee (Fourth Committee) of the United Nations General Assembly, Dr Sidi Mohamed Omar, Member of the National Secretariat, Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSO, stressed that the Sahrawi people, who have done everything possible to achieve a just and lasting peace, will continue their liberation struggle by all legitimate means to defend their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.
The following is the full text of the statement of the Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations and coordinator with MINURSO, as received by SPS:
Statement of the Frente POLISARIO on the Question of Western Sahara before the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee (Fourth Committee) of the UN General Assembly
Ambassador Sidi Mohamed Omar
Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSO
New York, 8 October 2024
Madam Chair,
Distinguished Representatives of Member States,
I am pleased to address again the Fourth Committee on behalf of the Frente POLISARIO, the legitimate and sole Representative of the people of Western Sahara, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council.
As usual, time does not allow me to provide a detailed account of the situation in Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa, which has been on the agenda of this Committee as an issue of decolonisation since 1963, and whose Territory remains under Morocco’s illegal occupation since 1975.
I would, however, like to briefly refer to the ruling issued, on 4 October, by the European Court of Justice, which confirmed the illegality of the agreements between the European Union and Morocco, the occupying state, because they were concluded in violation of the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and to permanent sovereignty over their natural resources.
This is a historic victory for the Sahrawi people and their legitimate struggle for self-determination and independence. It is a victory of justice and the power of law over injustice and power politics.
Now Member States and Institutions of the European Union are required to fully respect the ruling of the European supreme Court and refrain from taking any action, symbolic or otherwise, that may contribute to entrenching Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara. The time for appeals and stalling tactics is over.
It is time to be on the right side of history because self-respecting countries, in Europe and elsewhere, which are genuinely committed to upholding the principles of international law, can never accept or condone the continuation of Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara, which goes against everything that this Committee and the United Nations stand for.
Madam Chair,
Distinguished Representatives of Member States,
Last week, we received the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Mr Staffan de Mistura, in the context of his continued engagement with the two parties to the conflict, the Frente POLISARIO, and Morocco, the occupying state.
The message conveyed by the Sahrawi people to the UN Envoy was very clear. Our people, who have done everything possible to achieve a just and lasting peace, will continue their liberation struggle by all legitimate means to defend their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.
I thank you for your attention.