NEW YORK (United States) 26 October 2026 (SPS) – The Global Monitoring Center (GMC) has called on the members of the United Nations Security Council to uphold international law, preserve the UN-led decolonization process in Western Sahara, and safeguard the Sahrawi people’s inalienable right to self-determination through a free and genuine referendum.
In a press release issued yesterday, Sunday, the Center expressed deep concern over the United States circulation of a Zero draft resolution on the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) that fails to meet this essential condition, warning that the draft risks moving the Security Council toward a predetermined political framework, referring to Washington’s attempt to impose the Moroccan so-called autonomy plan as the sole outcome of the conflict.
The GMC clarified in its statement that any approach that effectively requires the Sahrawi people to accept a single political outcome, rather than allowing them to freely determine their future, would undermine the principle of self-determination at the heart of the Territory’s decolonization process.
The Center recalled that Western Sahara, as the last colony in Africa, remains on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, emphasizing that Security Council Resolution 690 (1991) established MINURSO specifically to support the UN-led process for a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people under occupation for the past 50 years.
The GMC stressed that the danger of this approach extends beyond Western Sahara to set a dangerous precedent in international law. If a political option is imposed on a people whose right to self-determination remains unresolved, it risks setting a precedent that weakens the international decolonization framework, undermines confidence in the consistent application of international law for all Non-Self-Governing Territories, and threatens the right of all peoples to self-determination and sovereignty over their lands.
The press release affirmed that international law is clear and must be followed; it cannot be treated as binding in one dispute and set aside in another simply because a particular political outcome is viewed as more convenient for one party over another. Disregarding the right to self-determination would risk deepening mistrust, weakening the legitimacy of the UN-led process, and creating conditions for further tension and instability throughout the region and beyond.
The GMC called on the Security Council to support a lawful, transparent, and credible process that enables the Sahrawi people to determine their political future freely, including through the referendum framework for which MINURSO was established.
It urged Council members to review the draft carefully, preserve the relevant UN resolutions and the original purpose of MINURSO, and reject any approach that makes the exercise of self-determination conditional on accepting a predetermined outcome in violation of international law.
The Center concluded that the Security Council as a whole must remain committed to a lawful, credible, transparent, and impartial process that safeguards the right of peoples to freely determine their future. (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)
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