New York (United Nations), 22 October 2026 (SPS) – Member of the National Secretariat, Frente POLISARIO Representative at the United Nations, and Coordinator with MINURSO, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, addressed a letter today to Ambassador Aglaia Balta, Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations and current President of the UN Security Council. In the letter, he highlighted the Frente POLISARIO’s position regarding the zero-draft circulated today by the United States of America to the members of the Security Council.
Below is the full text of the letter:
Letter from the Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSOaddressed to the President of the Security Council
New York, 22 October 2026
H.E. Ms. Aglaia Balta
Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations
President of the Security Council
Your Excellency,
Upon instructions from my Authorities, I am writing to you, with a sense of urgency, to inform that the Frente POLISARIO has taken note of the zero-draft circulated on 22 October 2026 to the members of the Security Council by the United States of America as the penholder on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
The Frente POLISARIO underscores that the zero-draft, which fully reflects the national position of the penholder as well as that of Morocco, the occupying state, is another extremely dangerous, unprecedented departure not only from the principles of international law underpinning Western Sahara as a question of decolonization, but also from the basis upon which the Security Council has addressed Western Sahara. It also contains elements that strike at the heart of the foundations of the UN peace process in Western Sahara and constitute a grave violation of the international status of the Territory. In this context, it must be emphasized that the Security Council’s framework for addressing the question of Western Sahara is not restricted to resolution 2797 (2025) but is rather established upon the entirety of its relevant resolutions on this matter.
The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) was established by the Security Council in accordance with its resolution 690 (1991). The Mission was deployed in the Territory based on the mutual agreement of the two parties, the Frente POLISARIO and Morocco, under the UN-OAU Settlement Plan. Consequently, departing unilaterally from this mutually accepted framework and altering the mission’s mandate to align with the position of Morocco, the occupying state, compromises the international efforts deployed so far with a view to achieving the decolonization of Western Sahara in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions.
In this context, the non-compliance of Morocco, the occupying state, with its commitments under the UN-OAU Settlement Plan, which was adopted unanimously by the Security Council, cannot justify any infringement upon the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and sovereignty over their homeland. Furthermore, any attempt to legitimize aggression and acquisition of territory by force cannot serve as a basis for a consensual, just, and sustainable solution. On the contrary, it will inevitably compromise regional peace and security and trigger further tension and instability.
As confirmed by the International Court of Justice, sovereignty over Western Sahara belongs exclusively to the Sahrawi people who have an inalienable, non-negotiable, and imprescriptible right to self-determination and independence to be exercised freely and democratically under the UN auspices. Therefore, any approach that sets a prefixed framework for the negotiations or predetermines their outcome, circumscribes the free exercise by the Sahrawi people of their right to self-determination, or imposes a solution against their will is utterly unacceptable to the Frente POLISARIO, the sole and legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people. Furthermore, such an approach would undermine the hope of rebuilding trust between the two parties, the absence of which constitutes a formidable obstacle to the progress of the “political process”.
The Frente POLISARIO therefore stresses that the content of the zero-draft cannot constitute a basis for any deliberations on MINURSO or the peace process in Western Sahara and that, if the zero-draft were to pass without any substantive and meaningful changes, the Frente POLISARIO would have no choice but to disengage from the peace process as a whole.
The Frente POLISARIO remains committed to achieving a just, lasting, and definitive peace for which it has made tremendous concessions and sacrifices since the inception of the UN-led peace process in Western Sahara. Therefore, the Frente POLISARIO urges all stakeholders to utilize their influence constructively to safeguard the peace process, which is essential to maintaining broader peace and security in the region.
I would be most grateful if you would bring this letter to the attention of the members of the Security Council.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.
Dr Sidi M. Omar
Ambassador, Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations
Coordinator with MINURSO
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