Managua (Nicaragua), 27 May 2026 (SPS) – On Tuesday, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, Member of the National Secretariat, Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations, and Coordinator with MINURSO, delivered a statement before the participants at the Caribbean Regional Seminar. This seminar is organized by the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (C-24) of the UN General Assembly, which commenced its proceedings on Monday in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua.
The full text of the statement as received by SPS is as follows:
Señora Presidenta:
Estimados representantes de los Estados Miembros:
Señoras y señores,
Es un placer dirigirme de nuevo al Comité Especial de Descolonización en nombre del Frente POLISARIO, el legítimo y único representante del pueblo del territorio no autónomo del Sáhara Occidental, de conformidad con las resoluciones pertinentes de la Asamblea General y del Consejo de Seguridad.
La delegación del Frente POLISARIO quisiera expresar nuestro más sincero agradecimiento al Gobierno de la República de Nicaragua por la cálida acogida y hospitalidad y por los excelentes preparativos para organizar este evento.
En particular, expresamos nuestra inmensa gratitud y aprecio al pueblo hermano nicaragüense y a su dirección política por su posición histórica de solidaridad y apoyo a la legítima lucha del pueblo saharaui por su libertad e independencia. Esta firme posición, que fue reafirmada con fuerza y claridad por el Co-Canciller, el Sr. Denis Moncada, en su discurso ayer ante este seminario, evidencia los sólidos lazos que existen entre la República de Nicaragua y la República Arabe Saharaui Democrática.
Madam Chair,
Distinguished Representatives of Member States,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This year marks 63 years since the question of Western Sahara was placed on the agenda of the Special Committee in 1963 in recognition of the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV), which constitutes the raison d'être of this Committee.
However, the decolonization of Western Sahara remains unfinished, primarily because of Morocco’s continued occupation of some parts of the Territory, an occupation that has been deeply deplored by the General Assembly in its relevant resolutions. The overdue decolonization of the last colony in Africa remains an urgent task for the Committee and for the United Nations as a whole.
In this regard, I will present a brief account of the latest political developments concerning Western Sahara and the way forward.
On 31 October 2025, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2797 (2025) in which it decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 October 2026.
Leaving aside the “destructive ambiguities” contained in the resolution, in Resolution 2797 (2025), the Security Council reaffirmed all its previous resolutions on Western Sahara and underlined three fundamental requirements as the basis for achieving a mutually acceptable solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
First, the solution must be consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter; second, it must be mutually acceptable to both parties, the Frente POLISARIO and Morocco; and, third, it must provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.
In this context, the United Nations and the United States of America, as penholder on MINURSO in the Security Council, co-chaired three ministerial meetings on Western Sahara in January and February 2026. The ministerial meetings, which were held in Washington DC and Madrid, gathered the foreign ministers of both parties, the Frente POLISARIO and Morocco, as well as the two neighboring countries and observers, Algeria and Mauritania. The discussions have initiated a process, but major challenges remain.
Prompted by its willingness to achieve a peaceful, just and lasting solution to the decolonization of Western Sahara, the Frente POLISARIO engaged constructively and in good faith in the discussions and submitted its ideas and proposals. It also made it abundantly clear that any solution, if mutually accepted by both parties, must not only provide for the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination in accordance with relevant General Assembly resolutions, but it must also be validated by them through a genuine, free and democratic process.
Madam Chair,
Distinguished Representatives of Member States,
More than five decades of conflict have demonstrated beyond any doubt that the Sahrawi people are strongly attached to their legitimate rights and national aspirations and that no power on earth can take away those rights. Therefore, there is no alternative to the free and democratic exercise by the Sahrawi people of their inalienable and non-negotiable right to self-determination and independence.
Let us be clear. No one should be tempted to try to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, when it comes to the right of self-determination, which is the inherent right of peoples to freely determine their political status without any external interference. The destiny of the Sahrawi people is only for the Sahrawi people to choose because they are the exclusive owners of sovereignty over Western Sahara. Neither the occupying state nor any other state can make that choice in their stead.
The Frente POLISARIO firmly believes that searching for just and enduring peace is fundamentally incompatible with the aggressive posturing of the occupying state and its continued human rights violations and fait accompli polices in Occupied Western Sahara, among other things. These actions are indicative of bad faith and severely damage trust in the peace process and render purposeful negotiations nearly impossible.
In accordance with relevant UN resolutions, including resolution 2625 (XXV), all Member States have the duty to refrain from any forcible action which deprives peoples of their right to self-determination, freedom and independence. In this regard, Member States should strongly reject any “proposals” that would reward Morocco for its unlawful use of force to occupy the UN-listed Non-Self-Governing Territory of Western Sahara in violation of the UN Charter and the Constitutive Act of the African Union. Accepting such proposals rooted in expansionism and forcible change of borders would set a dangerous and destabilizing precedent in Africa and beyond.
The Frente POLISARIO remains fully committed to peace and to contributing constructively to achieving a peaceful, just and lasting solution to the decolonization of Western Sahara. However, the Sahrawi people will never accept the Moroccan colonial fait accompli and will continue their legitimate resistance and struggle to defend their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.
Thank you for your attention.
Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar
Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations, and Coordinator with MINURSO
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