Bir Lehlou (Sahrawi Republic), 23 October 2026 (SPS) – President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, has sent a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres outlining the Sahrawi position on key aspects of his latest report on Western Sahara, ahead of the Security Council’s consultations on the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
In the letter, President Ghali reaffirmed that Morocco’s violation of the 1991 ceasefire agreement on 13 November 2020 was the root cause of the current hostilities and urged the Security Council to hold Morocco accountable.
He stressed that any political process must guarantee the Sahrawi people’s inalienable right to self-determination and warned against negotiations that predetermine the outcome or restrict the available options to autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.
President Ghali also called for maintaining MINURSO’s existing mandate, established in 1991 to organise a self-determination referendum, cautioning against premature changes while negotiations remain underway.
The letter further criticised omissions in the UN report concerning restrictions on MINURSO’s access to local interlocutors in the occupied territories, Morocco’s continued refusal to allow the UN Human Rights Office access to the territory, and ongoing violations against Sahrawi civilians, activists and political prisoners.
Regarding confidence-building measures, President Ghali clarified that the Polisario Front had expressed willingness to cooperate with the UN Refugee Agency on a proposed exchange of visits, but had not agreed to the proposed “go-and-see” visits intended to familiarise Sahrawi refugees with conditions in the occupied territory or Morocco’s autonomy proposal.
He reiterated that resolving the situation of Sahrawi refugees requires addressing the root cause of their displacement: Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara.
Ghali reaffirmed the Polisario Front’s commitment to a just, peaceful and lasting solution in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions, stressing that the Sahrawi people must freely determine their political future, including through the exercise of their right to independence.
He urged the UN Secretary-General to circulate the letter among Security Council members ahead of their deliberations on MINURSO’s mandate.
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