Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara (Oslo)
20 May 2002
Oslo — Statement delivered at a Seminar organised by the UN Special Committee on decolonization in Nadi, Fiji 14-16 May 2002.
The Representative of the Frente Polisario stated that the decolonization of the Western Sahara has been on the UN agenda since the 1960s and remains a case in which the credibility of the UN and its decolonization efforts are being put in jeopardy. After realizing that if a genuine referendum were to be held, it would favor independence, Morocco began obstructing it by all means. The "Draft Framework Agreement" which is proposed to the Settlement Plan, is an attempt to satisfy Morocco's aspirations and legitimize its illegal occupation. It goes against the UN Charter, its resolutions on Western Sahara, the Verdict of the ICJ and departs from the UN/OAU Peace Plan. Furthermore, it compromises the inalienable right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and hence contradicts the UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV).
The Peace Plan, which is based on the organization of a referendum of self-determination, remains the sole, legal and viable framework for reaching a just and lasting resolution to the decolonization process in Western Sahara. The human rights abuses in the Occupied Areas must be stopped and the Saharawi POWs held in Morocco must be accounted for. He requested the Special Committee to send a fact-finding delegation to the Occupied Areas and the Saharawi refugee camps and report on its findings.
He also requested the UN to mandate its mission, MINURSO, to monitor the human rights situation in the occupied areas and stop the illegal exploration and exploitation of the natural resources of Western Sahara. He suggested that the Special Committee continue to stress the decolonization nature of the question of Western Sahara and closely monitor the decolonization process of the last Non-Self-Governing Territory in Africa. He reaffirmed the willingness of the Frente Polisario to fully cooperate with the UN/OAU in their efforts to organize a free and fair referendum to enable the Saharawi people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination.
The seminar also adopted the following recommendation on Western Sahara: "With regard to Western Sahara, the Seminar urges the two parties to continue, under the auspices of the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, to try to resolve the multiple problems relating to the implementation of the Settlement Plan and try to agree upon a mutually acceptable political solution to their dispute over Western Sahara."
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