New York (UN), September 29, 2025 (SPS) - The Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad, and African Affairs, Mr. Ahmed Attaf, has stressed that the resolution of the conflict in Western Sahara must lead to enabling the Sahrawi people to practically exercise their right to self-determination.
In his speech during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Ahmed Attaf clarified that the desired genuine solution to this conflict must adhere to five main principles: First, the solution must be under the full and permanent auspices of the United Nations. Second, the solution must be based on direct negotiations between the two parties to the conflict. Third, the solution must be crafted and formulated by the two parties to the conflict, not imposed or dictated by one party or any other parties. Fourth, the content of this solution must align with the requirements of the UN doctrine for decolonization and the vindication of peoples suffering under its yoke. Finally, the solution must enable the Sahrawi people to practically exercise their right to self-determination, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions.
The head of Algerian diplomacy added that time may delay the realization of a right, but it does not nullify it, and time is not a justification for legitimizing falsehood or invalidating a right. He reaffirmed that the issue of Western Sahara remains a matter of decolonization, the Sahrawi people remain entitled to exercise their inalienable and imprescriptible right to self-determination, and the situation imposed on the Sahrawi territory remains an occupation in the view of international law and the established doctrine of the United Nations.
Ahmed Attaf noted that 62 years have passed since the General Assembly included Western Sahara on the list of territories whose peoples require decolonization, 50 years have passed since the Security Council adopted its first resolution on Western Sahara, and 34 years have passed since the deployment of the UN Referendum Mission in Western Sahara.
