New York (United Nations), 19 October 2026 (SPS) –Member of the National Secretariat, Frente POLISARIO’S Representative at the United Nations, and Coordinator with MINURSO, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, addressed a letter today to Ambassador Aglaia Balta, Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations and current President of the UN Security Council. In the letter, he refuted with documented evidence the false claims made by the representative of Morocco, the occupying state, during the proceedings of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) of the UN General Assembly.
Below is the full text of the letter, a copy of which was received by SPS:
Letter from the Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSOaddressed to the President of the Security Council
New York, 19 October 2026
Your Excellency,
At the outset, allow me to congratulate you on assuming the presidency of the Security Council for this month and to wish you every success in the fulfillment of your important mandate.
In his recent statement before the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee), the Moroccan permanent representative to the United Nations returned to his habit of twisting the truth and desperately trying to mislead Member States regarding the question of Western Sahara.
In his statement, the representative of Morocco, the occupying state, refers to Security Council Resolution 2797 (2025) and repeats the same reductive and selective reading of the text. Notwithstanding certain “destructive ambiguities”, Security Council Resolution 2797 (2025) establishes three core principles: first, that any solution must align with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including self-determination; second, that it must be mutually acceptable to both parties, the Frente POLISARIO and Morocco; and third, that it must provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
It was on this basis that the Frente POLISARIO, the sole and legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, engaged in good faith in the three informal ministerial meetings on Western Sahara, co-chaired by the United Nations and the United States of America in January and February 2026. Throughout the process, the Frente POLISARIO participated actively in the discussions and submitted its ideas and proposals, including those contained in its proposal of 2007 as well as its expanded proposal presented to the Secretary-General on 20 October 2025.
The Moroccan representative once again claims that the decolonization of Western Sahara “has been definitively sealed for half a century” invoking the infamous “black march” and “Madrid “Agreement” of 1975. We have previously refuted these unsubstantiated allegations through documented evidence in our prior communications to the Security Council, most notably in our letters S/2023/456, S/2024/520, S/2025/367, S/2025/528 and S/2025/620, among others.
Nonetheless, if the decolonization of Western Sahara had been definitely sealed for half a century —as the representative of Morocco, the occupying state, claims—, why did the General Assembly deplore deeply “the continued occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco” in its Resolutions A/RES/34/37 of 1979 and A/RES/35/19 of 1980?
If the decolonization of Western Sahara had been definitively concluded, why do the General Assembly and its subsidiary bodies address Western Sahara “as an issue of decolonization”, while the Security Council treats the question “as a matter of peace and security” (A/81/295; para. 2)? In this context, why did Morocco, the occupying state, vote in favor of a draft resolution requesting the Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24) to continue treating Western Sahara as a decolonization issue? (A/C.4/81/L.4; OP 6)?
The failure of the Moroccan representative to respond to these straightforward questions exposes the fallacy of the entire “argument” on the basis of which Morocco, the occupying state, has been trying to “justify” its illegal, military occupation of Western Sahara—an occupation that has been going on since 1975 in flagrant violation of the UN Charter and the Constitutive Act of the African Union.
The Moroccan representative blatantly distorts the core conclusions of the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Western Sahara of 16 October 1975. The ICJ ruling is a matter of public record and clearly establishes the following:
“The Court’s conclusion is that the materials and information presented to it do not establish any tie of territorial sovereignty between the territory of Western Sahara and the Kingdom of Morocco or the Mauritanian entity. Thus, the Court has not found legal ties of such a nature as might affect the application of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) in the decolonization of Western Sahara and, in particular, of the principle of self-determination through the free and genuine expression of the will of the peoples of the Territory” (ST/LEG/SER.F/1, p. 100).
The ruling of the ICJ is unequivocal and requires no further elaboration. Crucially, the Court not only determined that no ties of territorial sovereignty existed between Western Sahara and Morocco, but it also reaffirmed the applicability of General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) to the decolonization of the Territory. Furthermore, the sovereignty over Western Sahara resides exclusively with the Sahrawi people; as such, it cannot be traded or gifted through transactions by any foreign nation or government.
The Moroccan representative deceitfully refers to the need for “durable solutions” for the Sahrawi refugees. It is important to stress that the Sahrawis living currently in the refugee camps in Algeria did not become refugees because of any natural or environmental circumstances or any civil war. Instead, they were forced to become refugees because of the Moroccan military invasion and occupation of their country in 1975. Consequently, a durable solution to their situation can only be realized through the end of the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara.
Moreover, rather than putting a show of “concern” for the Sahrawi refugees—and urging others to follow suit—the Moroccan regime should create the minimum conditions of a dignified existence for its own citizens who are increasingly driven to flee their country and risk their lives trying to reach Europe. The scenes of over 75,000 Moroccans fleeing their desperate living conditions in a mass exodus towards Spain, witnessed by the world in late July, leave an indelible stain of disgrace on the Moroccan regime. These developments have also exposed the true nature of the Moroccan regime, which certain parties—whether through oversight or deliberate choice—fail to acknowledge.
I would be most grateful if you would bring the present letter to the attention of the members of the Security Council.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.
Dr Sidi M. Omar
Ambassador, Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations
Coordinator with MINURSO
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