Bir Lehlou (Sahrawi Republic), September 7, 2026 (SPS) – President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Mr. Brahim Ghali, sent a letter to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, informing him of the latest developments concerning the Sahrawi cause, particularly the situation in the occupied Sahrawi territories.
The President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front began his letter by recalling that this year marks more than half a century since the Moroccan occupying state launched its military invasion of Western Sahara on October 31, 1975. This act constitutes a violation of the United Nations Charter and its relevant resolutions. He stressed that the continuation of Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara—which remains on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories undergoing the decolonization process—continues to constitute a fundamental obstacle preventing the Sahrawi people from exercising their inalienable right to self-determination and independence, as well as all fundamental rights associated with it.
In this context, the President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front noted that the inability of the United Nations and its relevant bodies to take firm action against Morocco’s deliberate obstructionist policy, and Morocco’s refusal to fulfill its obligations under the 1991 Settlement Plan jointly sponsored by the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity, which was accepted by both parties and unanimously endorsed by the Security Council, has encouraged the occupying State to persist in its intransigence and defiance of international law and international humanitarian law.
He stressed that the United Nations and the international community must recognize that the absence of a firm response to Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara carries the risk of perpetuating an explosive situation, with potentially serious consequences for regional and international peace and security. He urgently called on the United Nations and the international community to employ all available diplomatic means to end the ongoing injustice against the Sahrawi people and to accelerate the long-awaited decolonization process in Western Sahara, Africa’s last colony.
Regarding the latest developments related to the UN-sponsored peace process in Western Sahara, the President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front affirmed that the Polisario Front, motivated by its desire to achieve a just, lasting and final peace, actively participated in the three informal ministerial meetings jointly chaired by the United Nations and the United States of America in January and February 2026.
He added that the Polisario Front engaged in the discussions in good faith and presented its ideas and proposals, including those contained in the proposal it submitted to the UN Secretary-General on April 10, 2007, which was taken note of by the Security Council in Resolution 1754 (2007) and subsequent resolutions, as well as its expanded proposal submitted to the UN Secretary-General on October 20, 2025.
In the same context, the President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front renewed the Polisario Front’s sincere desire to make successful the efforts undertaken by the United Nations to reach a just, lasting and final solution to complete the decolonization process in Western Sahara. He stressed that any solution must be based on clear and fundamental principles, namely guaranteeing the Sahrawi people’s inalienable, non-negotiable and non-delegable right to self-determination and independence through a free, transparent and democratic process consistent with the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly.
He also reaffirmed the Sahrawi people’s categorical rejection of all pseudo-solutions aimed at legitimizing the Moroccan occupation or circumventing their legitimate national aspirations for freedom, independence and full sovereignty over their entire national territory.
Regarding the human rights situation in the occupied Sahrawi territories, the President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front drew attention to the fact that the situation remains a matter of grave concern due to the systematic colonial practices pursued by the occupying State in violation of the territory’s international status and the applicable rules of international law and international humanitarian law. He noted that these aggressive practices are intended to impose a fait accompli in the occupied Sahrawi territories while simultaneously seeking to subjugate Sahrawis by force through a multifaceted policy involving intimidation, impoverishment, deprivation and collective punishment.
In this context, the President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front noted that Sahrawi activists and human rights defenders, journalists and media activists continue to face documented patterns of physical violence, intimidation, close surveillance, arbitrary arrest and detention. Furthermore, the Moroccan occupying authorities continue to subject human rights activists to punitive measures, including dismissal from employment, withholding of salaries, and restrictions on freedom of movement and residence within the territory.
The President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front also drew attention to the fact that Sahrawi political prisoners, including the Gdeim Izik group, remain imprisoned in facilities belonging to the occupying State under harsh conditions, hundreds of kilometers away from their families in the occupied Western Sahara. They continue to face systematic restrictions, most notably limited access to adequate medical care, prolonged isolation, and restrictions on communication with their families and the outside world. These conditions have compelled detainees to resort to hunger strikes as a means of protesting their deprivation of fundamental rights and the protection guarantees afforded under international standards.
The President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front renewed his appeal to the UN Secretary-General to exercise his good offices and take all necessary measures to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of all Sahrawi political prisoners, facilitate their return to their homeland, and reunite them with their families.
The President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front noted that the Moroccan occupying authorities continue to prevent UN bodies and special rapporteurs, non-governmental organizations, international media outlets and observers from accessing the territory, with the aim of preventing independent scrutiny of the human rights situation in occupied Western Sahara. He recalled that numerous independent observers, legal experts and journalists have been expelled from the territory.
In this regard, he recalled that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has been denied access to occupied Western Sahara since 2015 (S/2025/612), stressing that it is completely unacceptable for the Moroccan occupying State to prevent UN bodies from accessing a territory listed by the United Nations as a Non-Self-Governing Territory undergoing decolonization and which falls under its direct responsibility.
The President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front warned that the Moroccan occupying authorities continue to implement a policy of demographic change in the territory, involving the forced displacement of Sahrawis from their ancestral lands, after which these lands are allocated to Moroccan settlers and foreign commercial entities. He stressed that such practices constitute a flagrant violation of international law and the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.
The President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front recalled that the United Nations and its relevant bodies bear a special responsibility toward the people of Western Sahara, as a territory still awaiting decolonization, in accordance with the consistent position expressed in successive UN General Assembly resolutions. He renewed his call on the Secretary-General and the United Nations to fully assume and implement their responsibilities toward the Sahrawi people, particularly civilians in the occupied Sahrawi territories, until the Sahrawi people are able to freely exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.
In conclusion, the President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front noted that more than 50 years of conflict have clearly demonstrated that no solution can be imposed by any means whatsoever. He affirmed that reaching a peaceful, just and lasting solution based on the relevant principles of international law is possible if there is genuine political will to move away from solutions based on unilateral, imposed faits accomplis—solutions that have had devastating consequences for peace and security throughout the region.
In this regard, the President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Front once again affirmed the Polisario Front’s sincere readiness to engage in direct and good-faith negotiations with the Kingdom of Morocco, under United Nations auspices, with the aim of reaching a just, peaceful, lasting and final solution that guarantees the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and restores peace and security in the region.
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