Boumerdes (Algeria), August 15, 2026 (SPS) – Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, member of the National Secretariat, Polisario Front Representative to the United Nations, Coordinator with MINURSO, has affirmed that the essential and constant element in the complex equation of the Western Sahara conflict is the Sahrawi people, who is firmly determined to continue its resistance and struggle, by all legitimate means, to defend its legitimate rights, which it will not compromise on, either today or tomorrow, namely freedom, independence, and the completion of its sovereignty over its entire national territory.
The Sahrawi diplomat made the statement during a lecture entitled “The Sahrawi Cause at the United Nations Level”, delivered as part of the 14th edition of the Summer University for |Executives of the Polisario Front and the Sahrawi Republic, held in Boumerdes Province, Algeria.
Regarding the United Nations General Assembly’s handling of the Sahrawi cause, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar noted that in December 1963, the General Assembly included Western Sahara (then Spanish Sahara) on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, in accordance with the provisions of General Assembly Resolution 1514 (1960).
In this context, he stressed the legal and political significance of this development, which lay in the internationalization of the Sahrawi cause through the United Nations’ recognition of the territory’s international status as a territory subject to decolonization, as well as recognition of the Sahrawi people’s inalienable right to self-determination and independence in accordance with Resolution 1514 (1960), followed by recognition of the United Nations’ responsibility toward the territory and the fate of its people. He added that since then, the General Assembly and its relevant bodies—the Fourth Committee and the Committee of 24—have continued to address the issue as a decolonization question. One example is the latest General Assembly resolution, adopted on December 5, 2025.
Speaking about the consideration of the issue at the level of the Security Council, the Sahrawi diplomat said that following the establishment of MINURSO and the launch of the voter-identification process for the referendum, the mission succeeded in preparing the provisional list in January 2000. However, he said, the Moroccan occupying state decided at that very stage to abandon its commitment to the Settlement Plan, convinced that any free and democratic referendum would result in a choice for independence. He added that, due mainly to France’s influence, the Security Council took no action in response to the occupying state’s rejection of the peace plan.
Addressing UN Security Council Resolution 2797 (2025), adopted on October 31, 2025, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar said that, without delving into interpretive details, the resolution can be divided into two main parts: (1) procedural, whereby the resolution calls on the two parties, the Polisario Front and Morocco, to engage in discussions and negotiations without preconditions, under the auspices of the United Nations, with a view to reaching a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable solution; and (2) substantive, whereby the resolution stipulates that any solution must ensure the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
The Sahrawi diplomat also gave an overview of the Polisario Front’s proposal submitted in 2007 as a gesture of goodwill. He stressed that it rests on two fundamental pillars. First, the urgent need to hold a free and fair referendum that includes the options agreed upon by the two parties and endorsed by the Security Council, enabling the Sahrawi people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination. Second, should the referendum result in independence, the Sahrawi Republic would be prepared to negotiate with the Kingdom of Morocco on establishing strategic and mutually beneficial relations between the two countries, as well as guarantees in vital areas.
He also pointed out that the expanded Polisario Front proposal submitted in 2025 reaffirms the Sahrawi side’s readiness to share the “cost of peace” with the other party, provided that it demonstrates the political will to do likewise. He stressed that it was the Moroccan occupying state that imposed the “cost of war” on both the Sahrawi and Moroccan peoples.
He added that history will record that the Polisario Front, representing a people seeking to complete the decolonization of its land, put forward a historic and unprecedented offer, thereby firmly reaffirming its commitment to reaching a peaceful solution to the conflict and building a common future based on cooperation and peaceful coexistence among all the countries and peoples of the region.
Speaking about the current state of the peace process, the Sahrawi diplomat stressed that the Moroccan occupying state still lacks the genuine political will to move toward a final solution consistent with international law, while continuing to impose further colonial realities on the ground in an effort to consolidate its illegal occupation of parts of Western Sahara. He added that, unfortunately, all of this is taking place while the Security Council continues to remain silent regarding the obstruction and destabilizing actions carried out by the occupying state.
In conclusion, the Polisario Front Representative to the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSO reiterated the Sahrawi side’s position, stressing the Polisario Front’s desire to contribute to establishing a just and lasting peace based on the Sahrawi people’s exercise of its inalienable, non-negotiable, non-expiring, and non-delegable right to self-determination and independence, while categorically rejecting all “half-solutions” aimed at undermining this right.
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