Madrid, 29 June 2025 (SPS) – The Western Sahara issue remains one of the greatest unresolved injustices, despite the clarity of international law on the matter and UN Security Council resolutions calling for the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination, said John Bolton, former U.S. diplomat and National Security Advisor.
In an interview with the Spanish news site "Otralectura," Bolton noted that the situation in the Sahrawi territories has not progressed due to Morocco's "obstinacy" and its refusal to allow a "free" and "fair" self-determination referendum.
He pointed out that since the 1991 ceasefire and the establishment of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), there had been a preliminary agreement on holding a referendum based on the 1974 Spanish census.
"Despite the technical simplicity of this procedure, Morocco has repeatedly obstructed the process, fearing that the referendum results would not serve its expansionist ambitions," he stressed.
The former diplomat, who emphasized the urgent need for international commitment to the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination, harshly criticized Rabat's strategy of "buying time and altering the demographic composition of the occupied Sahrawi territories by transferring Moroccan settlers."
Bolton also addressed the legal and moral dimensions of the Sahrawi issue, asserting that true sovereignty cannot be imposed by force and annexation but must derive legitimacy from the free will of the people.
He further warned against Morocco’s disinformation campaigns aimed at tarnishing the Polisario Front’s image, stating that attempts to link the Front to terrorist and extremist groups were nothing but "desperate propaganda without tangible evidence"—contrary to what he personally witnessed during his first visit to Sahrawi refugee camps over thirty years ago.
Additionally, Bolton noted that Morocco has actively lobbied in European and American capitals to impose its narrative on the Sahrawi issue and promote its so-called "autonomy plan" as an alternative to a self-determination referendum.
"This propaganda reveals a real fear of the Sahrawi people’s unshakable determination," he remarked.
On another front, the former U.S. official condemned Morocco’s illegal exploitation of Western Sahara’s natural resources, including fishing agreements covering Sahrawi waters and the plundering of Sahrawi phosphate.
"All agreements concerning the resources of the Sahrawi territories are illegal under international law as long as the status of Western Sahara remains unresolved," he stressed.
Bolton concluded that the only just and lasting solution to the Sahrawi issue lies in implementing UN resolutions—particularly through a UN-supervised self-determination referendum.
He called on the international community to "stop turning a blind eye to this tragedy and fulfill its moral and legal obligations so that the Sahrawi people can finally enjoy their rights to freedom and independence."
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