(Note:  A complete summary of today's Special Committee on Decolonization meetings will be made available after their conclusion.)

The long-standing question of decolonizing Western Sahara took centre stage today, as the Special Committee on Decolonization heard impassioned statements from petitioners and delegates alike that reflected divergent views.  Underscoring the role of the United Nations in resolving this question, some voiced support for Morocco’s claim of sovereignty over the Western Sahara and lauded its development efforts, while others argued for the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.

“Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, proposed to the United Nations in 2007, offers a pragmatic, balanced and dignified way forward” by granting the Moroccan Sahara “a high degree of autonomy”, said Ghalla Bahyia, an elected representative of the Dakhla-Oued Dahab region.  Highlighting major investments in the Dakhla region’s infrastructure, renewable energy, agriculture and social development, she described it as one of “Morocco’s most dynamic growth poles and a future economic gateway to Africa”.

Also, highlighting the significant infrastructure development in the Moroccan Sahara, M’hamed Abba, representing the Regional Council of Laâyoune-Sakia al Hamra, underscored the region’s investment in people, with over 36.5 million dirhams allocated to education, healthcare and youth engagement.  Citing King Mohammed VI, he called on the United Nations to “assume its responsibility and recognize the difference between the dynamic reality of inclusive development and a static vision anchored in outdated narratives”.

However, several speakers countered this narrative, with Sidi Mohamed Omar, representative of the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y de Río de Oro (Frente POLISARIO), describing the “colonialist ‘proposal’” propagated by Morocco as “no more than a travesty and a manoeuvre through which the occupying State tries to ‘legitimize’ its illegal occupation of Western Sahara”.  Urging the international community to act, he warned that complacency and inaction would embolden the occupying State “to persist in its misguided belief that it can impose a fait accompli by force in Occupied Western Sahara”.

“We are not Moroccan, and we will never be Moroccans.  Our identity is not for sale,” said Mouhidine Souvi, a petitioner, describing Morocco’s establishment of “fake consulates” in occupied territories as part of “mere political theatrics”.  He warned against continued inaction and condemned Morocco and its allies’ attempts to impose its will by force, demanding the right to self-determination through a free and fair referendum.

Calls to Protect Human Rights

Detailing the widespread human rights violations occurring in Western Sahara under the Moroccan occupation, Ahmed Mohammed Fall, representing Codesa, said the group’s members “face oppression, retaliation, siege and isolation […]” for documenting the grave abuses that are committed in the region.  He called for urgent international action to uphold humanitarian law, including establishment of a UN protection mechanism.

Adding to that, Mohammed Abbadi from FreedomSun Organization for the Protection of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders, said that the exercise of peaceful expression, participation in protests and the voicing of opposition to the policies of the Moroccan occupation has become severely restricted.  “Today, we call on the Committee to take a stand,” he declared, urging the Committee to protect human rights defenders, demand the release of all Sahrawi political prisoners, and allow the Sahrawi people exercise of their right to self-determination. 

Focus on Situation in Tindouf Refugee Camps

The situation in Tindouf camps also came into the spotlight, with Touria Hmyene describing how, for nearly five decades, women in the camps have lived in a “state of limbo”, facing forced marriage, gender-based violence and restrictions on movement and expression.  Highlighting the complicity of the host State, she called on the international community to demand an independent investigation into systemic abuse.

Similarly, Zine el Aabidine el Ouali, a petitioner representing the African Forum for Research and Studies in Human Rights, drew attention to the transfer, looting and sale of humanitarian assistance, as well as the recruitment of children in the Tindouf camps.  He called on Algeria to allow the holding of an official and transparent referendum for residents of the camps, open independent investigations into the grave violations perpetrated there and to hold perpetrators accountable.

“Frente POLISARIO is not a voice for peace, it is rather an armed separatist group that has repeatedly resorted to terrorist tactics, repression and ideological manipulation,” emphasized Saad Bennani.  It operates from the Tindouf camps, where basic freedoms are systematically denied and where people are held against their will, he stressed, accusing the group of recruiting child soldiers, violating international ceasefires and maintaining ties with criminal networks across the Sahel. “Supporting POLISARIO means endorsing perpetual instability and terrorism,” he stated.

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