Caracas, October 3, 2025 – With the lecture entitled “The Case of Western Sahara: Colonialism, Unfinished Decolonization, and Resistance,” Ambassador Mohamed Zrug inaugurated on Thursday the International Seminar on Colonialism, Anticolonialisms, and Other Territorial Dispossessions, held in Caracas, Venezuela. Ambassador Zrug’s address, which marked the opening of the event, was moderated by Venezuela’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yuri Pimentel, and opened a space for deep reflection on one of the most emblematic and still unresolved decolonization cases in the international arena.
The event was officially inaugurated by the Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, together with the President of the Simón Bolívar Institute, and brings together 157 delegates from more than 30 countries, including members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Caracas, academics, social movements, and specialists in geopolitics and international law.
During his remarks, Ambassador Zrug provided a critical overview of the Western Sahara conflict, addressing its colonial roots, the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, and the challenges they face in light of military occupation and the plundering of their natural resources.
Summary of the main points addressed in the lecture:
Colonial history and current situation: Zrug contextualized Spain’s colonization of Western Sahara and its abandonment of the territory in 1975, which led to its occupation by Morocco and Mauritania. He denounced the prolongation of an unfinished decolonization process, in violation of international law.
Right to self-determination: He reaffirmed that the Sahrawi people possess an inalienable right to decide their future, and that any attempt at external imposition constitutes a violation of UN resolutions and fundamental human rights.
Natural resources and geopolitics: He noted that the territory is rich in resources such as phosphates and fisheries, which have been exploited to the detriment of the Sahrawi people by international actors prioritizing economic interests over legality and justice.
Military invasion and resistance: He described Morocco’s invasion and the response of the Sahrawi people led by the Polisario Front, highlighting decades of peaceful struggle, resistance, and demand for justice in the face of repression and media silence.
International recognition of the SADR: He emphasized that the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has been recognized by more than 80 countries, representing the sovereign will of the Sahrawi people, despite not yet having a seat at the UN.
Parallels with Latin America and the Caribbean: Zrug compared the situation of Western Sahara with other still-colonized territories in the Americas and the Caribbean, such as Puerto Rico and the Falkland Islands, underscoring common patterns of neocolonialism and struggles for self-determination.
