UN commitment to Western Sahara people's right to self-determination: Clear message to Morocco

New York (United Nations), 16 September 2023 (SPS) - Polisario Front representative to the United Nations and coordinator with MINURSO, Sidi Mohamed Omar, said Thursday that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' statement on the commitment of the United Nations to Western Sahara people's right to self-determination was a "clear message to the occupation State of Morocco."

In his discussions with the president of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), the secretary general of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, UN Secretary- General Antonio Guterres stressed the commitment of the United Nations to Western Sahara people's right to self-determination and the pursuit of efforts for the implementation of this right in line with UN resolutions.

He wished that the efforts of his personal envoy, Staffan de Mistura, would be able to speed up the settlement process of the conflict that has lasted too long.

The Sahrawi diplomat told the Sahrawi Television that "The UN chief's statement is quite normal, considering that Western Sahara is a decolonization issue on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly and its specialized committees."

He added that it came following the attempts by the occupation state of Morocco to impose the fait accompli in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, under the pretext that 'the matter is settled and the file is closed' at the United Nations.

The statement of the UN Secretary-General, considered as the guardian of the principles of the United Nations Charter,‎  is intended to convey a clear message to the occupation State of morocco that: firstly, "the international organization remains committed to Western Sahara people's right to self-determination, and secondly, the occupation state's stillborn proposal, and the opening of "pseudo branches" of foreign entities in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, will in no way change the status of Western Sahara as a territory submitted to a UN-sponsored decolonization process."

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