Bir Lehlou (Sahrawi Republic), 22 October 2025 (SPS) - President of the Sahrawi Republic and Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO, Mr Brahim Ghali, addressed today a letter to the UN Secretary-General, Mr António Guterres, containing the position of the Sahrawi party on some elements contained in the Secretary-General’s report on the situation concerning Western Sahara. The letter also comes in view of the consultations to be held by the UN Security Council on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
Full text of the letter of the President of the Republic as received by SPS:
H.E. Mr António Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations
United Nations, New York
Bir Lehlou, 22 October 2025
Mr Secretary-General,
The Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y de Río de Oro (Frente POLISARIO) takes note of the report (S/2025/612) of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the situation concerning Western Sahara, dated 30 September 2025, which was circulated as an official document on 21 October 2025, and would like to place on record its position regarding several elements contained in the report.
With reference to “the situation in Western Sahara”, the report points out that the current situation “continued to be characterised by tensions and low intensity hostilities between Morocco and the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y Rio de Oro (Frente POLISARIO)” (S/2025/612, para. 2).
The Frente POLISARIO would like to recall and stress again that the root cause of this situation, which has lasted for five years, is the material and continued breach by Morocco, the occupying state, of the 1991 ceasefire and related military agreements when its military forces invaded the then “buffer strip” in Guerguerat in the Liberated Sahrawi Territories, and illegally occupied more of the Sahrawi land on 13 November 2020.
It is an undisputed fact that Moroccan occupying forces, as the Secretary-General informed in his report (S/2021/843, para. 35), constructed “an approximately 20 km long new sand wall at Guerguerat” and “consolidated its presence over some 40 km2 of land in the buffer strip”. It was also Morocco, the occupying state, that defiantly informed the Secretary-General that its actions at Guerguerat were “irreversible” (S/2021/843, para. 23).
There is therefore no question that Morocco, the occupying state, has materially breached and torpedoed with complete impunity the 1991 ceasefire and related military agreements and has caused “the breakdown of the ceasefire” as recognised by the Security Council in its resolution 2602 (2021, PP. 14), among others. However, for the fifth consecutive year, the UN Secretariat remains reluctant to call a spade a spade and hold Morocco, the occupying state, fully responsible for the consequences of its material breach and torpedoing of the 1991 ceasefire and related military agreements.
The Frente POLISARIO calls upon the members of the Security Council to bear in mind the foregoing when they convene to deliberate on the renewal of MINURSO mandate in the coming days.
The report refers to the two judgements issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on 4 October 2024, which found that the fisheries and agriculture trade agreements made between the European Union and Morocco were concluded in violation of—and in disregard for—the consent of the Sahrawi people and their right to self-determination and permanent sovereignty over their natural resources.
We once again call upon you, Mr Secretary-General, to use all means at your disposal to inform world public opinion and the relevant organs of the United Nations of all economic and other unlawful activities carried out by Morocco, the occupying state, in Occupied Western Sahara with a view to forcibly imposing a colonial fait accompli in the Territory and undermining the exercise by the Sahrawi people of their right to freedom, self-determination and independence.
Regarding the situation on the ground, the report refers to reports received by MINURSO about strikes “conducted by uncrewed aerial vehicles” of the Moroccan occupying forces, “firing incidents”, and “aerial and other strikes” that caused “civilian casualties” and “material damage” (S/2025/612, paras. 13, 14, and 19 respectively).
As we have underscored in previous communications, including our latest letter (S/2025/533), since their violation of the ceasefire on 13 November 2020, the Moroccan occupying forces have been using all types of weapons, including uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), to kill not only dozens of Sahrawi civilians, but also civilians from neighbouring countries as they cross the Liberated Sahrawi Territories.
The Frente POLISARIO stresses once again that the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian objects constitutes a war crime in line with the Statute of the International Criminal Court. It is also a violation of the rules of international humanitarian law applicable in international armed conflicts, including the principle of distinction and the prohibition of indiscriminate attacks and acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population. Morocco, the occupying state, must be held accountable for its continued war crimes in Western Sahara.
The report points out that “Between January and March 2025, MINURSO observed that Morocco had completed the construction of a road that had not yet officially opened, approximately 93 km in length and leading from the city of Smara to Mauritania across the berm. The road would provide a second additional crossing from the Territory into Mauritania, along with Guerguerat. In a meeting with the MINURSO Force Commander in Agadir on 19 February, the Commander of the southern zone of the Royal Moroccan Army stated that the road was meant for civilian use and unrelated to its operations” (S/2025/612, para. 23).
The Frente POLISARIO, while strongly condemning the reported “road”, stresses that this escalatory and provocative step is only another episode of the annexationist policy and aggression pursued by Morocco, the occupying state, since its military occupation of Western Sahara in October 1975. It is also a direct reminder of the attempt by the occupying state, on 14 August 2016, to change unilaterally the status quo in the Territory by opening a breach through its military wall and “paving a desert track” (S/2017/307, para. 2) across the then “buffer strip” in Guerguerat in Western Sahara in violation of the ceasefire agreement and related military agreements in place at the time.
As is now the case, the Moroccan occupying authorities claimed then that their “clearing and paving actions were an exclusively civilian operation” (S/2017/307, para. 5). As subsequent events showed, the lack of a strong and swift response at the time from the United Nations and the Security Council in particular clearly emboldened Morocco, the occupying state, to continue its destabilising actions with complete impunity. The consequences of Morocco’s defiant attitude over the succeeding four years are well known to everyone, as outlined above.
The Frente POLISARIO, therefore, warns of the very serious consequences that this new escalatory and provocative action may cause not only for the already volatile situation on the ground due to Morocco’s ongoing aggressive war, but also for regional security and stability. It underscores that describing the reported “road” as “civilian” or otherwise does not change anything in its being part of the annexationist practices of the occupying state, which must be condemned strongly. The United Nations must assume its responsibility and put an end to the destabilising actions of the occupying state and its “war of attrition” against the UN-led peace process in Western Sahara.
The report notes that “The Mission’s lack of access to local interlocutors west of the berm continued to severely limit its ability to collect reliable situational awareness information and to assess and report on developments across its area of responsibility” (S/2025/612, para. 59). It is therefore imperative that the Security Council, in its forthcoming resolution on the renewal of MINURSO mandate, call for full and unrestricted access by the Mission to local interlocutors in the Territory.
It is also imperative that the Security Council ensure that Morocco, the occupying state, lift the longstanding restrictions imposed on the Mission, including the requirement “that MINURSO use Moroccan vehicle number plates west of the berm, in contravention of the status-of-mission agreement” and “the stamping of MINURSO passports by Morocco in Western Sahara” (S/2025/612, para. 61).
With regard to “human rights” the report points out that “the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has not been granted access to the Territory since 2015 despite repeated requests and although the Security Council, most recently in resolution 2756 (2024), strongly urged enhancing cooperation with OHCHR, including through facilitating visits to the region” (S/2025/612, para. 69).
Once again, Morocco, the occupying state, is not held responsible for obstructing the work of UN bodies and for repeatedly denying them access to the Territory. It is therefore imperative that, in its forthcoming resolution on the renewal of MINURSO mandate, the Security Council demand that OHCHR have full and unfettered access to Occupied Western Sahara.
The report refers to the reports received by OHCHR, during the reporting period, regarding “an increasingly shrinking civic space and restrictions on Sahrawis’ rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly amid growing surveillance, harassment and intimidation” as well as the suppression by Moroccan occupying authorities of “protests and gatherings supporting self-determination, with a particularly notable impact on Sahrawi women human rights defenders” (S2025/612, para. 70).
The few cases outlined in the report do not do justice to the systematic human rights violations perpetrated with complete impunity by the Moroccan occupying authorities against Sahrawi civilians and human rights defenders away from international scrutiny because of the continued military blockade and media blackout imposed on Occupied Western Sahara.
The report likewise refers to “the dire conditions of detention of Sahrawi prisoners” and points out that “human rights violations against the Gdeim Izik prisoners, who remained held in prisons outside Western Sahara, continued to adversely affect their physical and mental health. The imprisonment of Sahrawis inside Morocco undermined family visits” (S/2025/612, para. 72). We once again call upon the Secretary-General to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of all Sahrawi political prisoners so that they could rejoin their homeland and be reunited with their families.
The report points out that “On 2 July 2025, the National Human Rights Council of Morocco shared information concerning its capacity-building activities, complaints handling, case referral and mediation in Western Sahara” (2025/612, para. 75).
Morocco is the occupying power in Western Sahara in accordance with General Assembly resolutions 34/37 of 21 November 1979 and 35/19 of 11 November 1980, among others. The information shared by Moroccan entities or diplomatic agents regarding Western Sahara is unacceptable and cannot be cited in a report of the Secretary-General on this issue. This is not only because the information lacks all credibility, but also because it represents a breach of the international status of the Territory as a Territory subject to a decolonisation process and over which the occupying state does not exercise any sovereignty.
In his “observations and recommendations”, the Secretary-General points out that “The fiftieth anniversary of the conflict, which falls in November 2025, highlights the prolonged alarming state of affairs but also calls for a renewed effort for an accelerated resolution of this long-standing conflict” (S/2025/612, para. 80). What the month of November this year marks is the fiftieth anniversary of the Moroccan “black march”, which the Security Council “deplored” in its resolution 380 (1975) of 6 November 1975, and called upon Morocco to immediately withdraw from Western Sahara “all the participants in the march” (operative paras. 2 and 3, respectively).
The Frente POLISARIO would like to recall that the immediate cause that triggered the conflict in Western Sahara was “the announced invasion” by Morocco that was referred to by Spain in its letter (S/11851) to the President of the Security Council, dated 18 October 1975, pointing out that the “situation” jeopardised international peace and security and sought to disregard the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination. The actual invasion took place on 31 October 1975 when Moroccan armed forces infiltrated and invaded the northern part of Western Sahara.
Once again, the Secretary-General urged “all concerned to engage without delay in support of United Nations facilitation, in order to change the course of the process towards a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in accordance with Security Council resolutions 2440 (2018), 2468 (2019), 2494 (2019), 2548 (2020), 2602 (2021), 2654 (2022), 2703 (2023) and 2756 (2024)” (S/2025/612, para 81).
The Frente POLISARIO recalls once again that the two parties to the conflict in Western Sahara are the Frente POLISARIO and Morocco, the occupying state, and reaffirms is readiness to cooperate with the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy with a view to achieving a peaceful, just, and lasting solution to the decolonisation of Western Sahara.
As we stressed in our letters (S/2021/980, S/2022/797, S/2023/794, and S/2024/774, among others), the guidelines provided by the Security Council as to the nature of the solution to the conflict in Western Sahara for which MINURSO was established in 1991 are not contained only in the Security Council resolutions cited above. Moreover, the Security Council is the organ that established, under its authority, MINURSO and its mandate by virtue of its resolution 690 (1991), and since then the Council has consistently recalled and reaffirmed all its previous resolutions on Western Sahara, including its latest resolution 2756 (2024).
The Frente POLISARIO reaffirms that the resolutions of the General Assembly on Western Sahara as an issue of decolonisation on UN agenda since 1963 can never be sidelined because they continue to constitute the framework for the peaceful, just, and lasting solution.
The Frente POLISARIO strongly supports the Secretary-General’s observation that “Independent, impartial, comprehensive and sustained monitoring of the human rights situation remains necessary to ensure the protection of all people in Western Sahara” (S/2025/612, para. 87). In this context, the Frente POLISARIO once again calls for operationalising the legal and moral responsibility of the United Nations towards the Sahrawi people, particularly Sahrawi civilians living in the Territories under the illegal Moroccan occupation.
The Secretary-General observes that “the presence of MINURSO some 34 years since its establishment represents the continued commitment of the United Nations and the international community to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution to the conflict in Western Sahara in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions” (S/2025/612, para. 89). As we have stressed on previous occasions, we continue to demand to see a robust MINURSO that is fully empowered not only to accomplish its mandate but also to operate as a modern peace operation that monitors, protects, and reports on human rights in its area of responsibility, among other things. In view of the deteriorating situation of human rights in Occupied Western Sahara, it is unacceptable ethically and politically that MINURSO remain an exception at a time when the promotion and protection of human rights is becoming a priority in all UN peace operations.
As we recalled in our latest letter to the Secretary-General (S/2025/533), more than six decades have passed since the General Assembly included Western Sahara on its list of Territories subject to decolonisation processes. The General Assembly and its subsidiary bodies have ever since addressed Western Sahara within the scope of Chapter XI of the UN Charter, recognising the international status of Western Sahara as a decolonisation issue and the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence and to live freely on their homeland in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV).
In October this year, fifty years will have passed since Morocco, the occupying state, militarily invaded Western Sahara on 31 October 1975 in blatant violation of the UN Charter and the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence. Fifty years in which the occupying state has been pursuing expansionism, annexing territories by force and waging a genocidal war against the Sahrawi people, whose sole objective is to exterminate our people, occupy their land, expropriate their natural resources and undermine their legitimate and internationally recognised rights.
It is time that the United Nations must live up to its responsibilities regarding Western Sahara and enable our people to exercise freely and democratically their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.
The Frente POLISARIO has demonstrated time and again, through concrete deeds, its genuine commitment to just and enduring peace. Whilst remaining committed to the full implementation of the mandate for which the Security Council established MINURSO, the Frente POLISARIO equally remains ready to work with the United Nations and the African Union with a view to achieving a peaceful, just, and lasting solution to the decolonisation of Western Sahara based on full respect for the will of the Sahrawi people and their inalienable, non-negotiable, and imprescriptible right to self-determination and independence.
In this regard, the Frente POLISARIO reiterates its readiness to enter into direct and serious negotiations with Morocco, in good faith and without preconditions, under the auspices of the United Nations, based on the spirit and content of its expanded Proposal submitted to the Secretary-General on 20 October 2025, with a view to reaching a peaceful, just, and lasting solution to the decolonisation of Western Sahara in accordance with relevant United Nations and African Union resolutions and principles of international law.
I would be grateful if you would bring the present letter to the attention of the members of the Security Council.
Please accept, Mr Secretary-General, the assurances of my highest consideration.
Brahim Ghali
President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO
Related blogs
