New York (United Nations), 11 June 2024 (SPS) - Member of the National Secretariat and Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSO, Dr Sidi Mohamed Omar, stressed that the only demand of the people of Western Sahara, under the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO, is independence, which has been consolidated by decades of resistance against colonialism and foreign occupation, and crowned by the establishment of the Sahrawi Sate, the Sahrawi Republic (SADR), in 1976.
The remark was made during the statement delivered by the Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSO before the Substantive Session of 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), which began on Monday at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The Sahrawi diplomat reminded the Committee of the major facts contained in the report of its Visiting Mission that was sent to Western Sahara in 1975 to obtain firsthand information on the wishes and aspirations of the people of the Territory. The report of the Mission underscored the overwhelming consensus among Saharawi within the Territory in favour of independence and opposing integration with Morocco and Mauritania and that the Frente POLISARIO was the dominant political force in the Territory and enjoyed massive support from the population for its demand for independence.
The Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSO concluded by saying that the Sahrawi people, who have done everything possible to achieve peace, tell you today, loud and clear, that they are more determined than ever to intensify their struggle by all legitimate means to resist the Moroccan illegal occupation of parts of our land and to defend our inalienable and non-negotiable rights to freedom and independence.
The full text of the statement as received by SPS:
Statement of the Frente POLISARIO on the Question of Western Sahara
Ambassador Sidi M. Omar
Substantive Session of the Special Committee on Decolonisation (C-24)
New York, 11 June 2024
Madam Chair,
Distinguished Delegates of Member States,
It is my pleasure to address the Special Committee again on behalf of the Frente POLISARIO, the sole and legitimate Representative of the people of the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Western Sahara, in line with relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions.
At the C-24 Regional Seminar held recently in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, we refuted, with documented evidence, the baseless claims made by Morocco, the occupying state, in its futile attempts to “justify” the continuation of its illegal occupation of Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa.
Today, I would like to once again remind the Committee of the major facts contained in the report of its Visiting Mission that was sent to Western Sahara in 1975 to secure first-hand information on the wishes and aspirations of the people of the Territory. The report underscores that:
First, there was an overwhelming consensus among Sahrawis within the Territory in favour of independence and opposing integration with Morocco and Mauritania.
Second, the Frente POLISARIO was the dominant political force in the Territory and enjoyed massive support from the population for its demand for independence.
Third, the General Assembly should take steps to enable the people of the Territory to decide their own future in complete freedom in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV).
These major facts are still true today as they were forty-nine years ago.
Madam Chair,
Distinguished Delegates of Member States,
As this very Committee witnessed firsthand almost half a century ago, the only demand of the people of Western Sahara, under the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO, is independence, which has been consolidated by decades of resistance against colonialism and foreign occupation, and crowned by the establishment of the Sahrawi Sate, the Sahrawi Republic (SADR), in 1976.
The expansionist “proposals” that we often hear from Morocco, the occupying state, and its apologists, including its sponsored “puppet entities”, aim only to deprive our people of their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.
Self-respecting nations that are genuinely committed to upholding the principles of international law can never accept such “proposals” that go against everything that this Committee and the United Nations stand for.
Last month, the Sahrawi people celebrated the 51st anniversary of the foundation of the Frente POLISARIO and the beginning of our legitimate liberation struggle.
Today, the Sahrawi people, who have done everything possible to achieve peace, tell you, loud and clear, that they are more determined than ever to intensify their struggle by all legitimate means to resist Moroccan illegal occupation of parts of our land and to defend our inalienable and non-negotiable rights to freedom and independence.
I thank you for your attention.
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