Settlement of Western Sahara conflict must be based on UN Charter

Shaheed El-Hafed, 10 September 2023 (SPS) - The Sahrawi Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated on Sunday that the resolution of the conflict in Western Sahara must be in accordance with the United Nations Charter and the Constitutive Charter of the African Union (AU). This statement was made in response to a statement from its Moroccan counterpart, which persistently clings to the "colonizing solution and its procrastination."

According to a statement from the Sahrawi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Moroccan diplomacy, following the meeting between the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Moroccan occupying state, issued a statement reaffirming the Kingdom of Morocco's persistence in violating the requirements of international legality and its intention to undermine the efforts for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Western Sahara, by hindering the work of the UN Personal Envoy in Western Sahara.

The Sahrawi Ministry of Foreign Affairs "reaffirms its condemnation of the dangerous escalation by the Moroccan occupying state and warns against its destructive repercussions on peace, security, and stability in the entire region." Sahrawi diplomacy reaffirms that the only solution is one that aligns with the UN Charter and the Constitutive Charter of the AU, which recognize the Sahrawi people's inalienable and imprescriptible right to self-determination and independence.

The statement called on the UN Security Council to fulfill its responsibilities by urgently allowing the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to carry out its mandates, namely the organization of a self-determination referendum for the Sahrawi people, in accordance with the UN-OAU Settlement Plan of 1991. This plan was signed by both parties to the conflict (Morocco and the Polisario Front) and adopted by the UN Security Council.

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