UN Decolonization committee meets on situation in Western Sahara
This morning, the UN special committee on decolonization examined the situation in Western Sahara. Ahmed Boukhari, Polisario representative to the UN, elaborated on the situation-on-ground in this non-selfgoverning territory and on the continuous illegal plundering of the natural resources by Morocco.
Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York Special Committee on Decolonization
7th Meeting (AM)
As the Special Committee ‑‑ also known as the Special Committee of 24 or formally as the Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries ‑‑ took up the question of Western Sahara, a petitioner, Ahmed Boukhari of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (Frente Polisario), said that Morocco continued illegally to occupy the Territory and that United Nations efforts to finalize its decolonization had not been successful due to that country’s refusal to accept the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination and independence.
He recalled that in June 2007, the Frente Polisario and the Moroccan Government had entered into direct negotiations, as requested by the Security Council, the fourth round of which had been held in April 2008. Those talks had not progressed because Morocco had insisted on unacceptable pre-conditions. In reality, Morocco did not want to negotiate, but to impose its proposal for autonomy as the only possible solution, presenting it on a “take it or leave it” basis.
Morocco, he continued, did not wish to discuss the Frente Polisario proposal to allow the Saharawi people to exercise their right to self-determination through a referendum that would include all options recognized by the United Nations, including independence. Morocco had recognized that option in signing the 2003 settlement plans and the 1997 Houston Agreements. The proposal stated that, in the event that the Saharawi people opted for independence, the Frente Polisario would offer Morocco the chance to negotiate the basis for a strategic relationship in the economic, security, commercial and social spheres.
He went on to say that, following his appointment in August 2008, Christopher Ross, the Secretary-General’s new Personal Envoy, had not officially assumed his functions until January 2009 due to Morocco’s initial rejection of his appointment. In February, Mr. Ross had made his first official visit to the region, and reported to the Security Council in April. His mandate was to try to reactivate the negotiations begun in Manhasset. The Personal Envoy had proposed, as a preliminary step, that the two parties begin informal negotiations. The Frente Polisario had expressed its support for the Personal Envoy and did not know why those meetings had not yet taken place.
Western Sahara was occupied by an estimated 150,000 Moroccan soldiers and divided into two parts by a shameful wall protected by those forces and 5 million anti-personnel landmines, he said. Morocco had intensified its exploitation and commercialization of the Territory, awarding its best natural resources, notably phosphorous and fishing, to the highest bidder. It was also including foreign companies in prospecting for petroleum, in serious violation of international law governing a Territory in the process of decolonization. That violation was particularly serious when taking into account that in January 2002 Hans Corell, then Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, had said that the Organization did not consider Morocco to be the sovereign or administering Power in Western Sahara.
Turning to human rights, he drew the Special Committee’s attention to the respective reports of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in October 2007, Human Rights Watch in December 2008 and the Ad Hoc Committee of the European Parliament in February 2009. All those reports stated that Morocco had violated human rights in Western Sahara on the basis of its refusal to respect the Territory’s right to self-determination, and agreed with the need for the United Nations, through the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), to observe and protect human rights until the conflict was resolved.
All the Secretary-General’s reports since October 2006 stated his concern about the human rights situation in the Territory, he continued. Various non-permanent members of the Security Council had tried, in 2008 and 2009, to include in the Council’s resolution on the question of Western Sahara an expansion of MINURSO’s mandate to incorporate human rights. However, Morocco, with the support of France, had reduced that to a mere mention of a “human dimension” to the conflict. That had only served to consolidate the perception of double standards in the Council.
The fact that Western Sahara remained on the Special Committee’s agenda had made the Territory a living symbol of the failure by the United Nations to comply fully and effectively with its collective responsibility. During the recent Caribbean Regional Seminar on decolonization in Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Frente Polisario had reminded everyone that since 1969, Morocco had repeatedly and explicitly recognized before the Special Committee and the General Assembly the right of the Saharawi people to full independence. The Saharawi would not renounce full realization of that right, and the vast majority of United Nations Member States shared that view.
As members of the Special Committee took the floor, the representative of the United Republic of Tanzania said it was both unfortunate and unacceptable that Western Sahara remained the only unresolved case on the African continent. The Assembly had consistently recognized the inalienable right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence, repeatedly adopting resolutions and decisions on the matter that went unheeded. The Security Council had also consistently called for the self-determination of the Saharawi people.
Addressing the question of human rights, he said it remained a contested issue that could not be wished away and must, therefore, be handled with objective transparency. Such concerns would be handled in a credible manner if relevant United Nations organs like the Security Council and the Human Rights Council had a role in that regard. The United Republic of Tanzania also called attention to reported illegal exploitation of Western Sahara’s natural resources, which merited the Special Committee’s attention.
Cuba’s representative said the United Nations had reaffirmed on numerous occasions that the conflict in Western Sahara was a question of decolonization and, therefore, fell under the Organization’s direct responsibility. The Special Committee must play a central role in considering the issue. As confirmed by numerous resolutions, only the Saharawi people could decide their own future, without conditions of any kind. Over the last few years, four rounds of negotiations had been carried out under the Secretary-General’s auspices and the parties had reaffirmed their intention to continue those negotiations. Hopefully a solution would be found that would guarantee self-determination for the Saharawi people on the basis of the United Nations Charter and resolution 1514.
The Saharawi people needed the support of the international community, he continued, adding that despite its modest resources, his country had contributed to their development, especially in terms of education. In accordance with the Assembly’s annual appeals for offers of study and training opportunities to the people of Non-Self-Governing Territories, 475 Saharawi students were now studying in Cuba. As it had always done in the past, Cuba would support a just and definitive solution to the question of Western Sahara, in conformity with the relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions.
Venezuela’s representative supported self-determination and independence for the Saharawi people, while the representative of Côte d’Ivoire said that, with the appointment of a new Personal Envoy, the time had come to evaluate the situation and find new approaches to the question of Western Sahara.
The Special Committee will continue its work at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 17 June.
Africa's last colonySince 1975, three quarters of the Western Sahara territory has been illegally occupied by Morocco. The original population lives divided between those suffering human rights abuses under the Moroccan occupation and those living in exile in Algerian refugee camps. For more than 40 years, the Saharawi await the fulfilment of their legitimate right to self-determination.
Since 1975, three quarters of the Western Sahara territory has been illegally occupied by Morocco. The original population lives divided between those suffering human rights abuses under the Moroccan occupation and those living in exile in Algerian refugee camps. For more than 40 years, the Saharawi await the fulfilment of their legitimate right to self-determination.
