Dili (East Timor), May 23, 2025 (SPS) – The Western Sahara cause received strong backing during the Pacific Regional Seminar of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24), held as part of the Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism (2021-2030). The seminar concluded its proceedings this Thursday in Dili, the capital of East Timor.
The closing ceremony was attended by H.E. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, who addressed the participants. He highlighted that the seminar took place alongside the solidarity conference "Asia and the Pacific in Solidarity with Western Sahara," reflecting East Timor's unwavering support for the Sahrawi people and their struggle for freedom and self-determination.
The Timorese Prime Minister also praised the special bond between the Timorese and Sahrawi peoples, calling for intensified efforts to end all forms of colonialism in occupied and colonized territories, such as Western Sahara.
During the seminar, Algeria, Angola, Belize, Bolivia, Cuba, Namibia, Nicaragua, South Africa, East Timor, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia expressed their firm support for the Sahrawi people’s inalienable right to self-determination and independence. They also stressed the urgent need to expedite a self-determination referendum for the people of Western Sahara, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions.
The Sahrawi delegation participating in the Pacific Regional Seminar included Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, member of the National Secretariat, Polisario Front representative at the UN and coordinator with MINURSO, and Mr. Abba Malainin, Ambassador of the Sahrawi Republic to East Timor.
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