Paris, 29 October 2026 (SPS) – French MP Jean-Paul Lecoq, chair of the French National Assembly's Study Group on Western Sahara, on Wednesday urged France to uphold international law and reject any UN Security Council resolution that would rule out a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara, ahead of Friday's vote on the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
In a statement, Lecoq warned against diplomatic pressure to align the Security Council's position with Morocco's approach to Western Sahara, criticising Washington's role in these efforts.
He also criticised French President Emmanuel Macron's recognition of Morocco's plan for Western Sahara in the summer of 2024, describing it as a departure from France's historical position and a move contrary to previous UN resolutions on the Non-Self-Governing Territory.
Lecoq recalled that MINURSO was established in 1991 to organise a referendum on self-determination, which has yet to take place, 35 years later. He rejected attempts to abandon this objective, stressing that the future of Western Sahara must be decided exclusively by the Sahrawi people, not imposed by Morocco, the United States or France.
“Only the Sahrawi people should decide their future,” he stressed, urging French political leaders to defend the right of peoples to self-determination and control over their natural resources.
He called on France to reject any resolution that would undermine the prospect of a referendum enabling the Sahrawi people to freely choose their future, including between independence and integration into Morocco.
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