Shaheed El Hafed, 28 October 2026 (SPS) – A total of 200 Sahrawi and international organisations have sent a letter to the permanent representatives of 142 UN member states, urging them to defend the right of peoples to self-determination and prevent the UN Security Council from being used to legitimise the occupation of Western Sahara.
The letter bears the signatures of 112 Sahrawi organisations from the occupied territories, refugee camps and diaspora, alongside 88 international organisations. It comes as the Security Council prepares to renew the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and adopt a new resolution on the territory.
The organisations stressed that all UN member states share a legal and moral responsibility to uphold the principles of the UN Charter, regardless of whether they sit on the Security Council.
They also raised concerns over the US draft resolution on Western Sahara, arguing that it contravenes international law and previous Security Council resolutions, while seeking to undermine the Sahrawi people's rights. They further warned against attempts to impose political solutions, particularly Morocco's proposed autonomy plan.
The letter concludes by urging the 142 countries to convey their concerns to the permanent members of the Security Council and uphold the UN mandate to decolonise Western Sahara and safeguard the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination.
