New York (United Nations), 20 December 2025 (SPS) – The right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination received strong support during the high-level plenary meeting held by the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, contained in resolution 1514 (XV), adopted on 14 December 1960.
The representative of Timor-Leste stressed that, 65 years after the adoption of resolution 1514 (XV), there are still territories undergoing decolonization, including Western Sahara, where the people’s right to self-determination continues to be postponed and denied. He emphasized that such practices run counter to both the spirit and the letter of the 1960 Declaration and undermine the credibility of the international organization when justice, equality, and the rule of law are invoked.
For his part, the representative of Mozambique expressed his country’s deep concern over the continued listing of 17 territories as non-self-governing, whose peoples are still awaiting the fulfillment of promises made decades ago. In this regard, he recalled the fact that the peoples of Palestine and Western Sahara remain deprived of their inalienable right to self-determination.
The representative of South Africa voiced his country’s grave concern over the situation in Western Sahara, the last remaining colony on the African continent. He affirmed that the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination is of paramount importance and that no solution can be imposed on the people of Western Sahara. He also called on the Kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front to engage in direct political dialogue without preconditions in order to reach a just and lasting political settlement.
The representative of Namibia urged the international community to reaffirm its commitment to facilitating a fair and free referendum that would enable the Sahrawi people to determine their own future. He stressed that this is not merely a political necessity, but a fundamental human right, and that its realization is an integral part of African unity and the global pursuit of peace.
The representative of Cuba called for the need to reach a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution that ensures the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination in accordance with resolution 1514 (XV). He reiterated his country’s rejection of unilateral decisions that disregard the interests and rights of the Sahrawi people, including the so-called “autonomy,” which constitutes a violation of international law, the United Nations Charter, and General Assembly resolutions 1514 (XV) and 2625 (XXV).
Meanwhile, the representative of Nicaragua renewed his country’s unwavering solidarity with the Sahrawi people, the Palestinian people, and all peoples who are victims of oppressive colonialism.
In her address on the occasion, the President of the General Assembly, Ms. Annalena Baerbock, affirmed that enshrining the principle of the right to self-determination in the United Nations Charter amounted to a declaration that the era of governing peoples without their consent had come to an end. This marked a major global turning point, translated in practice by the General Assembly’s adoption in 1960 of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
It is worth noting that the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 80/106 on 5 December 2025, proclaiming 14 December as the International Day for the Eradication of Colonialism in All Its Forms and Manifestations. This day reaffirms the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (resolution 1514 (XV)), and underscores the need to expedite the final and unconditional end of colonialism in all its forms and manifestations.
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