New York (United Nations), 2 August 2026 (SPA) – In an interview today with the Spanish-language service of the Sahara Press Service (SPS), Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, Member of the National Secretariat, Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSO, affirmed that the Sahrawi people are firmly committed to their legitimate national aspirations for freedom, independence and the completion of sovereignty over their entire national territory.
Regarding the letter addressed to the Presidency of the Security Council concerning the critical situation of the Sahrawi political prisoner, Enaâma Asfari, he noted that it had recently been circulated as an official Security Council document (S/2026/606) and distributed to Member States.
In the same context, he noted that Enaâma Asfari began an indefinite hunger strike on 8 June 2026 in protest against his conditions of detention and the refusal of the Moroccan occupying authorities to implement United Nations decisions regarding his case and the cases of other Gdeim Izik political prisoners. He further stated: “we have strongly urged the Security Council to take immediate measures to protect Enaâma Asfari’s life and physical integrity while holding the Moroccan occupying authorities responsible for his fate and the fate of other Sahrawi political prisoners facing systematic human rights abuses in Moroccan prisons”.
He moreover noted that the United Nations’ historical responsibility towards Western Sahara as a Territory awaiting decolonization was reiterated, alongside a call for the international body to establish an independent mechanism to monitor human rights in the Territory.
Regarding the prospects for the UN-led peace process in Western Sahara, the Sahrawi diplomat stated that, within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 2797, adopted in October 2025, the United Nations and the United States co-chaired three informal ministerial meetings on Western Sahara in January and February 2026. These meetings were attended by the Foreign Ministers of both parties, the Frente POLISARIO and Morocco, in the presence of the Foreign Ministers of the two neighboring and observer countries, Algeria and Mauritania.
Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar reiterated his previous statements that the three ministerial meetings marked only the “beginning of a process” whose trajectory and outcome cannot yet be assessed due to the enormous obstacles that persist. Obviously, the greatest stumbling block lies in the aggressive stance of Morocco, the occupying state, whose conduct on the ground demonstrates bad faith and contradicts the genuine pursuit of a peaceful and lasting solution in accordance with the norms of international law.
The Frente POLISARIO Representative at the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSO recalled that the position of the Frente POLISARIO in this regard is very clear and was reaffirmed by the National Secretariat during its latest regular session held on 16-17 April 2026. The National Secretariat reiterated the Frente POLISARIO’s sincere desire to ensure the success of the efforts made by the United Nations, while emphasizing that a just, final and lasting solution should bebased on clear and necessary foundations, namely ensuring the inalienable, non-negotiable and non-delegable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence through a free, transparent and democratic process in accordance with the relevant United Nations General Assembly resolutions.
The National Secretariat also stressed the Sahrawi people’s categorical rejection of all pseudo-solutions that aim to legitimize the occupation and circumvent their legitimate national aspirations for freedom, independence, and the completion of sovereignty over their entire national territory.
Regarding the prospects for the peace process, the Sahrawi diplomat noted that the Security Council is expected to hold a meeting in October, under the presidency of Greece, to consider the Secretary-General’s report on the situation concerning Western Sahara and to decide on the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
Concerning the influx of Moroccans into Spain, a current global issue, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar pointed out that the events of the past few days in the Spanish city of Ceuta, characterized by the massive influx of Moroccans amid the inaction of the Moroccan security forces, highlight the true sociopolitical situation in Morocco. He added that it is a striking contradiction that this massive influx of migrants occurred just one day after the Moroccan monarch stated in his speech that his top priority was to ensure all Moroccans “conditions for a free and dignified life.” Yet, the reality, witnessed worldwide, shows thousands of Moroccans fleeing their “free and dignified life”!
The Sahrawi diplomat concluded by stating that this situation reveals the true face of the Kingdom of Morocco, which remains an autocratic country that deprives its people of their fundamental rights while acting as a constant source of destabilization throughout the region. He recalled that the Moroccan regime has systematically used Moroccan civilians as “cannon fodder” to blackmail and destabilize its neighbors, as occurred with the “black march” in Western Sahara in 1975 and in subsequent crises with Spain.
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