Algiers, October 8, 2026 (SPS)– Algerian Minister of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Attaf on Thursday reaffirmed Algeria’s support for the Sahrawi people’s inalienable right to self-determination, stressing that international legitimacy and justice constitute the basis for achieving peace, stability and integration in the region.
Attaf made the remarks in a speech delivered on the occasion of Algeria’s National Diplomacy Day, which coincides with the anniversary of Algeria’s accession to the United Nations and the raising of the national flag outside the UN Headquarters in New York on October 8, 1962.
He stressed that Algeria’s positions are grounded in the conviction that peace is inseparable from justice, stability from legitimacy, and development from peace, emphasizing the need to uphold the rights of peoples seeking to exercise their legitimate right to self-determination.
In this context, he said Algeria’s engagement since the beginning of this year in efforts to contribute to a lasting and just political solution to the Western Sahara issue stems from its conviction that a settlement of the conflict would ensure justice for the Sahrawi people and open new prospects for security, stability, cooperation and deeper integration in the Maghreb region.
The Algerian Foreign Minister reiterated that Western Sahara remains, in Algeria’s view, a decolonization issue that has yet to be completed, and that the Sahrawi people, under international law and the UN Charter, enjoy an inherent and inalienable right to self-determination.
He noted that Algeria’s engagement in the process established by Security Council Resolution 2797 is based on the elements provided by the resolution for launching a political process, including direct negotiations between the two parties to the conflict, Morocco and the Polisario Front, with each side presenting its vision for a final settlement.
Attaf stressed that any solution to the issue should be acceptable to both parties and based on negotiation and consensus, while keeping the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination at the core of the political process.
The Algerian minister concluded by affirming that the right of peoples to self-determination constitutes, in decolonization issues, the “constant of constants, the guiding principle of principles, and the reference of references,” reaffirming Algeria’s commitment to a just and lasting political solution that ends the conflict, ensures justice for the Sahrawi people, preserves the credibility of the United Nations, and contributes to strengthening regional stability.
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