Lisbon, 29 October 2026 (SPS) – Members of Portugal’s Socialist Party (PS), Livre, Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), Left Bloc (BE) and People-Animals-Nature Party (PAN) have signed an appeal to the United Nations Security Council, urging respect for the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and expressing concern over a draft resolution submitted by the United States.
The MPs expressed “deep concern” over the initial US draft resolution on renewing the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which is scheduled for a vote on Friday.
They warned that the proposal represents a departure from international law and the UN’s commitment to the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination. According to the signatories, the draft presents so-called autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as the sole option for resolving the conflict, thereby predetermining the outcome of negotiations.
The MPs also raised concerns over proposed changes to MINURSO, including removing the reference to the referendum from its name, substantially reducing its personnel and transforming it into an exclusively political mission.
They contrasted these proposals with a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly’s Fourth Committee on 15 October, which received 152 votes in favour, including Morocco’s, and reaffirmed the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination while keeping Western Sahara within the UN decolonisation framework.
The signatories also cited UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s report of 1 October, which stated that any political solution must be presented to the Sahrawi people through a free and genuine consultation offering them a real opportunity to accept or reject it. The report recommended extending MINURSO’s mandate for another year and warned of the risk of escalating conflict if the mission ceased monitoring the situation and helping prevent hostilities.
The MPs reaffirmed their support for UN mediation efforts and for a just, peaceful, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution.
They called on Security Council members to ensure that any resolution preserves the Sahrawi people’s inalienable right to self-determination, maintains the conditions necessary for MINURSO to fulfil its peacekeeping mandate, and ensures that any settlement emerges from genuine negotiations and the freely expressed will of the people concerned.
They also urged the Portuguese authorities to defend, through their diplomatic relations and engagement with the European Union, a solution consistent with the UN Charter and international law.
“Peace in Western Sahara cannot be built at the expense of the people’s right to decide their future freely,” the statement concluded.
