International community's neglect of Western Sahara conflict has imposed heavy human and political costs on peoples of region

Geneva (Switzerland), 9 September 2025 (SPS) – Ambassador Oubbi Boushraya Bashir, the Representative of the Polisario Front to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva, condemned the inaction of the international community 50 years after the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) advisory opinion on Western Sahara.

Ambassador Oubbi Boushraya affirmed that the costs of this inaction and the delay in implementing international law have been severe on both human and political levels. He clarified that the primary burden has fallen on the Sahrawi people, who have endured decades of exile, deprivation, political repression, and poverty, in addition to the large number of political prisoners held in Moroccan jails.

The second burden, he stated, has fallen on the Moroccan people themselves, who bear the economic and political consequences of the regime's exploitation of the Western Sahara issue to restrict freedoms and curtail democracy. This is compounded by declining socio-economic indicators, such as Morocco's ranking of 120th on the Human Development Index, high rates of unemployment and illiteracy, and a significant fiscal deficit.

The Sahrawi diplomat pointed to the political cost to the region's stability, emphasizing that the conflict has undermined the Arab Maghreb Union and perpetuated regional instability. He also highlighted the multilateral dimensions of the international failure, noting that Morocco's political and economic blocs have hindered the work of both the African Union and the United Nations, preventing the holding of a self-determination referendum since the 1990s.

Regarding international symbolism, the Sahrawi Ambassador noted that the European Union, by continuing to support agreements with Morocco concerning Western Sahara, damages its reputation as a rules-based organization and is seen as a financier of the prolonged Moroccan occupation. For the United Nations, the cost may be even greater, having missed crucial opportunities to resolve the conflict and failed to impose international monitoring of human rights or protect natural resources within the framework of the decolonization process.

Oubbi Boushraya concluded his address by emphasizing that the only solution capable of ensuring stability and legitimacy is the free and genuine expression of the will of the Sahrawi people, in accordance with their inalienable right to self-determination.