UN| Bendjama argues in favor of the independence of Western Sahara with compelling arguments and historical facts

NEW YORK (United Nations) – Algeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York, Amar Bendjama, reiterated “strongly” the fundamentals of Algeria’s immutable position on decolonization and the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and independence.

“Our foreign policy is based on cardinal principles including the right to self-determination that we claim for the benefit of the colonized peoples on this land and we will not change,” affirmed Ambassador Bendjama, during the work of the Committee session of decolonization of the UN C-24, held Tuesday in New York.

“The C-24 is of particular importance for us, we countries having suffered from colonization and today independent and present with pride in this hemicycle,” said Ambassador Bendjama in his speech before adding: “ We come from the four corners of the world and one by one we have achieved independence, sometimes after a fierce struggle for self-determination and freedom.

And to continue, in this context that this process “remains unfortunately unfinished and today, Western Sahara constitutes the largest colonized territory and the final colony in Africa”.

After observing that the territory of Western Sahara found itself, as soon as the former colonizer withdrew, invaded and militarily occupied by its two neighbors, Morocco and Mauritania, who illegally and indecently shared the territory between them. , and while specifying that three years later with the withdrawal of Mauritania, Morocco occupied the other part of the territory, Ambassador Bendjama asked two nagging questions.

He questioned, firstly, “if Morocco really had inalienable historical rights to this territory, which the International Court of Justice ICJ denies it, why did it agree to carve it up and share it with Mauritania” 

Then, he launched the second question: “If Morocco was sure that the Sahrawis live in a paradise in Western Sahara why is it resisting the consultation by the United Nations of the Sahrawi population through a referendum ? And does he concede, in exchange, a plan for autonomy within the framework of his sovereignty?

Ambassador Bendjama devoted the final part of his speech to a rigorous methodical reminder of the fundamentals of the Western Sahara question.

Thus, he wished to recall that the legal status of Western Sahara has long been clearly defined at the level of the United Nations, General Assembly and Security Council combined, it is a distinct and separated territory from Morocco and all the resolutions of the UN enshrine the legitimate and inalienable right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination.

Declaration confirmed by the International Court of Justice ICJ which evokes “the execution of the resolution to Western Sahara, in particular the principle of self-determination based on the free and authentic expression of the will of the people of the territory, through a referendum of “free and fair self-determination”, he said.

Mr. Bendjama then recalled an undeniable historical fact by emphasizing that, “under pressure from the international community, his late majesty King Hassan II, God rest his soul, had conceded here, that Morocco solemnly undertakes to consider ourselves obliged and bound by the results of this referendum”.

In support of his argument, Ambassador Bendjama added that the Security Council itself created, with this objective, MINURSO (United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara) which was to census the Sahrawi population and organize under its control the referendum.

But since then, he continued, “from denial to denial, and with proven ill will, the Kingdom of Morocco has discouraged several personalities charged by the SG of the United Nations with facilitating the organization of this referendum.” With dignity, these high personalities preferred to throw in the towel, he said again on this subject.

The C-24 session devoted to the Sahrawi question saw the participation of a large number of petitioners from the four corners of the world to speak loudly and clearly the voice of the Sahrawi people oppressed by the Moroccan occupier.

Member States supporting the just cause of Western Sahara took the floor, in turn, to reaffirm the need to complete the process of decolonization of Western Sahara in accordance with United Nations Resolution 1514, like Bolivia, Cuba, Iran, East Timor-, Ecuador, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, South Africa, Mexico, Peru, Angola, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Colombia, Namibia, Belize and Mozambique.

APS