New York (United Nations), 12 October 2026 (SPS) –Following his meeting earlier today with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Mrs. Rosemary DiCarlo, member of the National Secretariat, Frente POLISARIO Representative at the UN and Coordinator with MINURSO, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar,issued a Press Statement outlining the position of the Frente POLISARIO regarding the remarks made by Mr. Staffan de Mistura, Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, during the Security Council’s closed consultations on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) on 8 October 2026.
The full text of the statement:
PRESS STATEMENT
New York, 12 October 2026
Further to the letter addressed earlier today by Mr. Brahim Ghali, President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO, to Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Frente POLISARIO wishes to convey that it has taken note of the remarks delivered by the Personal Envoy of UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, during the Security Council’s closed consultations on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) on 8 October 2026.
In his remarks, the Personal Envoy has seriously compromised his mandate of strict neutrality and his role as an impartial mediator by, inter alia, openly endorsing “autonomy” as the basis for future discussions, thereby adopting a stance that aligns completely with the position of Morocco, the occupying state, which does not have any sovereignty over Western Sahara.
The Frente POLISARIO recalls its letters dated 4 March and 21 September 2026 in which the Secretary-General was called upon to ensure that the Personal Envoy for Western Sahara operated strictly within the established framework of the UN Charter, relevant UN resolutions and norms of international law related to Western Sahara as a decolonization issue.
It is a matter of grave concern that the Personal Envoy’s actions have again deviated from these established parameters, raising questions regarding his credibility, impartiality and independence as well as the viability of his mediatory mandate.
The Frente POLISARIO underscores that adherence to the fundamental principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence remains vital to the fulfilment of the Personal Envoy’s mandate and to maintaining mutual trust. Any repeated departure from these foundational tenets would compel the Frente POLISARIO to reconsider its engagement and continued cooperation with the Personal Envoy within the framework of the UN-led peace process.
Concurrently, the Frente POLISARIO reaffirms its longstanding commitment to cooperating with the Secretary-General’s efforts within the framework of the UN-led peace process, aimed at achieving the complete decolonization of Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa.
Ambassador Sidi M. Omar
Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations
Coordinator with MINURSO
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