Sahrawi diplomat: Morocco’s continued occupation of Sahrawi lands “threatens peace and security in the region and beyond”

Caracas – The representative of the Polisario Front at the United Nations and the coordinator with the MINURSO mission, Sidi Mohamed Ammar, in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, warned that Morocco’s continued occupation of the Sahrawi lands “threatens peace and security in the region and beyond, and is a flagrant violation of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the objectives and principles of the founding law of the Union.” African”.

in a speech delivered by Mr. Mohamed Ammar to the participants in the regional seminar for the Caribbean organized by the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (Committee of Twenty-Four) of the United Nations General Assembly, which began its work on Tuesday, in the Venezuelan capital.

The Sahrawi diplomat began his speech by expressing the appreciation and gratitude of the Polisario Front, to the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, for its principled position in support of the just cause of the Sahrawi people, pointing out that “holding this seminar in the land of Simón Bolívar, the liberator of America, is of special importance, especially for the peoples who continues to fight for their freedom and independence.”

He said: “At a time when we are holding our seminar within the framework of the Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, the issue of Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa, continues to pose a challenge to the international community and to this committee in particular.”

Sidi Mohamed Ammar asked: “How is it possible that the issue of Western Sahara continues without a solution more than six decades after the territory was included in the list of the Special Committee on Decolonization (the Committee of Twenty-Four) and more than three decades after the publication of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) MINURSO), which was mandated by the Security Council to hold a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawi people?

He went on to say in the same context: “It is clear that Morocco, the occupying country, will argue, as it has always done, that the issue was settled in 1975,” considering this “a clear disregard for everyone’s minds.”

In response to what the occupying state claims, he said that if that was the case, why did the General Assembly “strongly denounce” Morocco’s continued occupation of Western Sahara in its resolutions 34/37 of 1979 and 35/19 of 1980?

Morocco’s claims are also refuted by the fact that the General Assembly and its relevant bodies, as well as the Security Council, continue to deal with the issue of Western Sahara as a “decolonization issue” in the case of the General Assembly and a “peace and security issue” in the case of the Security Council, as confirmed by the Secretary-General in his report of 27 July. 2023.

The Sahrawi diplomat recalled the indisputable fact that “Morocco has remained an occupying power in Western Sahara since 1975, in flagrant violation of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the objectives and principles of the Constitutive Act of the African Union.”

Addressing the participants, he added: “As a founding member of the African Union, we share the countries and peoples of our region’s firm belief that we cannot build an Arab Maghreb of peace, unity and prosperity except through respect for international law and the objectives and principles of the founding law of the African Union, and not through the logic of power and expansion.” Meanwhile –

he added – “We remain firmly determined to use all legitimate means to resist the illegal Moroccan occupation of parts of our land and to defend our inalienable and non-negotiable right to self-determination and independence. No one should have the slightest doubt about that.”