New York (United Nations), November 10, 2026 (SPS) – Liechtenstein has stressed that the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination is fundamentally based on their freedom to choose their own political future, warning that imposing a predetermined final status does not constitute a genuine exercise of this right.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday during the debate under the “veto initiative” (Resolution 76/262), Liechtenstein’s Permanent Representative, Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, recalled the 1975 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Western Sahara. He highlighted the Court’s conclusion that the decolonization process must respect the right of the people of Western Sahara to determine their future political status through their freely expressed will.
The ambassador explained that the ICJ had established self-determination as a fundamental principle of the United Nations Charter, emphasizing that the right concerns not merely the possible outcomes—such as independence or autonomy—but, above all, the freedom of the people to choose their own political status.
He noted that this principle is enshrined in the common Article 1 of the two international covenants on human rights and reaffirmed in the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States.
Commenting on the US-sponsored draft resolution submitted to the Security Council, Wenaweser warned against confusing the means with the ends, stressing that imposing or endorsing a predetermined final status for Western Sahara cannot fulfil the right to self-determination unless the Sahrawi people are free to determine their political future.
He further observed that the United Nations, its member states and the Security Council had failed for five decades to fulfil this right and implement relevant UN resolutions. The recent veto, he said, was not the cause of this failure but rather a symptom of the international community’s collective shortcomings.
Liechtenstein concluded by describing efforts to ensure the full exercise of the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination as having reached a critical turning point, urging the General Assembly and the United Nations to assume their historical responsibility and uphold their obligations under the UN Charter and international law.
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