New York — In a letter addressed yesterday to the President of the UN Security Council, Dr Sidi Mohamed Omar, member of the National Secretariat, Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations, and Coordinator with MINURSO, refuted the series of false claims propagated by the UN representative of the occupying state of Morocco before the Special Committee on Decolonisation (C-24).
The Sahrawi diplomat demonstrated, with documented evidence, the falsity of the allegations made by the representative of the occupying state. He presented a detailed account of the salient elements that frame the question of Western Sahara in its legal and political dimensions as a decolonisation issue that could be resolved only through the exercise by the Sahrawi people of their inalienable, non-negotiable, and imprescriptible right to self-determination and independence.
In concluding, the Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSO stressed thatthe occupying state of Morocco must realise that the people of Western Sahara will never give up their inalienable right to self-determination and independence and that their march to freedom is unstoppable, adding that the sooner the occupying state of Morocco realises this irreversible reality, the better it will be for peace and security in the region.
The following is the full text of the letter, a copy of which was obtained by SPS:
New York, 19 June 2023
Her Excellency Lana ZakiNusseibeh
Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations
President of the Security Council
United Nations
Your Excellency,
In a new futile attempt to mislead UN Member States, the representative of the occupying state of Morocco to the United Nations has once again resorted to his "unparalleled skills" in misinformation and outright lies to rehash a series of baseless claims about the question of Western Sahara and the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguíael-Hamra y de Río de Oro (Frente POLISARIO).
As will be shown below, these repeated allegations do not stand up to scrutiny and are, quite simply, an insult to the intelligence of UN Member States.
1. Madrid Agreement is null and void, and it did not transfer sovereignty over Western Sahara to any third party or "seal" the decolonisation of the Territory.
In his statement during the substantive session of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence of Colonial Countries and Peoples (C-24), the representative of the occupying state of Morocco claimed that "the decolonisation" of Western Sahara "has been definitively and irreversibly sealed" since the "return" of the Territory to its "motherland in 1975 under the Madrid Agreement".
From the point of view of international law, it is an indisputable fact that Madrid Agreement ("Madrid Declaration of Principles"), which was signed between Spain, Mauritania, and Morocco on 14 November 1975, is null and void because it violated a peremptory norm of general international law(jus cogens), namely colonial peoples' right to self-determination, among other things.
The Agreement also contravened the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), issued on 16 October 1975, which unequivocally ruled that "The materials and information presented to it[the Court]do not establish any tie of territorial sovereignty between the territory of Western Sahara and the Kingdom of Morocco or the Mauritanianentity"(para. 162; emphasis added).
The Legal Opinion issued by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, the Legal Counsel, on 29 January 2002, at the request of the Security Council is also abundantly clear on this issue. The UN Legal Counsel established that "The Madrid Agreement did not transfer sovereignty over the territory, nor did it confer upon any of the signatories the status of an administering Power--a status which Spain alone could not have unilaterally transferred.The transfer of administrative authority over the Territory to Morocco and Mauritania in 1975 did not affect the international status of Western Sahara as a Non-Self-Governing Territory" (S/2002/161, para. 6; emphases added).
In this regard, the General Assembly has neither approvedMadrid Agreement nor considered it to have affected the international status of Western Sahara as a Non-Self-Governing Territory in line with General Assembly resolution 742 (VIII) of 27 November 1953 and relevant resolutions. The General Assembly and its subsidiary bodies have continued to address the question of Western Sahara within the scope of Chapter XI of the UN Charter, reaffirming the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
If the decolonisation of Western Sahara had been "definitively" sealed in 1975 under Madrid Agreement, as claimed by the representative of the occupying state, why then did the occupying state of Morocco decide to partition the Territory and its people with Mauritania in April 1976 by virtue of the "Convention concerning the State frontier line established between the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the Kingdom of Morocco", signed in Rabat on 14 April 1976 and registered by both countries with the UN Secretariat on 9 February 1977?
It is noteworthy that, in pursuit of its colonial ambitions and expansionist dreams, the occupying state of Morocco had also claimed Mauritania as part of its "empire-myth", opposed the decolonisation of the Territory in the 1960s and refused to recognise independent Mauritania for almost a decade (S/4568). To this day, in addition to its illegal occupation of Western Sahara, the occupying state of Morocco still claims for itself some "divine rights" over parts of its neighbours' territories against all principles of international law and goodneighbourly relations.
Moreover, if Western Sahara had been "returned" to its "motherland in 1975", as claimed by the representative of the occupying state of Morocco, why did the General Assembly deplore deeply "the continued occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco" in its resolutions A/RES/34/37 of 1979 and A/RES/35/19 of 1980 respectively (emphasis added)?
After all, if the decolonisation of Western Sahara had been "definitively" sealed in 1975, why do the General Assembly and its subsidiary bodies as well as the Security Council remain seized of the question of Western Sahara "as an issue of decolonisation" in the case of the General Assembly and "as a matter of peace and security" in the case of the Security Council (A/77/506; para 2; emphases added)?
The representative of the occupying state of Morocco has never been able to answer any of these straightforward questions simply because they lay bare the absurdity of the entire "argument" on the basis of which the occupying state of Morocco has been futilely trying to "justify" its illegal occupation of Western Sahara, which has been going on since 1975.
By insisting on blatantly rehashing this unsustainable claim, perhaps the representative of the occupying state of Morocco wants to make the point that the United Nations and all its relevant organs and their respective subsidiary bodies are in the wrong when it comes to the international status of Western Sahara, and that his country alone is in the right! Indeed, no one other than the occupying state of Morocco and its diplomatic agents can make such an insolent and ridiculous claim.
2. Western Sahara is a Non-Self-Governing Territory to be decolonised based on the exercise by the Sahrawi people of their inalienable, non-negotiable, and imprescriptible right to self-determination and independence.
The Special Committee on Decolonisation (C-24) included Western Sahara (the then Spanish Sahara) on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories (NSGTs) in its report (A/5446/Rev.1) of 6 December 1963, which was approved by the General Assembly in its resolution 1956 (XVIII) of 11 December 1963.
In line with the principles of the UN Charter and relevant General Assembly resolutions, the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and independence is inalienable, non-negotiable, and imprescriptible. This right cannot be affected by the lapse of time or forfeited by the unilaterally and forcibly imposed circumstances by the occupying state of Morocco in the Territory since 1975.
Therefore, so long as the General Assembly has not validated "the application of resolution 1514 (XV) in the decolonisation of Western Sahara and, in particular, of the principle of self-determination through the free and genuine expression of the will of the peoples of the territory", in accordance with the ICJ Advisory Opinion of 1975 and relevant General Assembly resolutions, Western Sahara remains in every practical sense a Non-Self-Governing Territorywhose decolonisation is still pending.
It is worth noting that the condition of Western Sahara being both a Non-Self-Governing Territory and an Occupied Territory (A/RES/34/37 (1979) and A/RES/35/19 (1980)) is compatible with international law and practice.
3. The Security Council addresses Western Sahara as a matter of peace and security and the General Assembly, and its subsidiary bodies address it as an issue of decolonisation.
In his statement, the representative of the occupying state of Morocco claimed that the question of Western Sahara was being examined by the Security Council, under Chapter VI of the UN Charter, "as a regional dispute" and that "as a result, only the Security Council is empowered to make recommendations and advocate a solution" to this dispute. This is another baseless claim that does not stand up to scrutiny.
In his report (A/77/506) of 4 October 2022 submitted to the 77thSession of the General Assembly, the UN Secretary-General noted that "the Security Council addresses Western Sahara as a matter of peace and security... The Special Political and Decolonisation Committee (Fourth Committee) of the General Assembly and the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples address it as a Non-Self-Governing Territory and an issue of decolonisation" (para. 2; emphases added).
In its first resolution on Western Sahara (S/RES/377(1975)), adopted on 22 October 1975, the Security Council addressed the matter "without prejudice to any action which the General Assembly might take under the terms of its resolution 3292 (XXIX) of 13 December 1974" (OP 1; emphasis added), and reaffirmed the terms of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 and all other relevant General Assembly resolutions on Western Sahara.
Since the 1990s, the Security Council has been seized of the question of Western Sahara primarily at the request of the UN Secretariat and the General Assembly whose resolution 1514 (XV) formed the rationale for Security Council resolution 650 (1990) and resolution 690 (1991) whereby the Council unanimously approved Settlement Plan and the establishment of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
In line with legally based established practice (including the UN Legal Opinion on the "Practice of the United Nations as regards the Consideration of the Same Questions by the Security Council and the General Assembly" of 1964,) the question of Western Sahara falls within the category of items submitted originally to the General Assembly and later considered by the Security Council. It is like other cases that have been, or continue to be, on the agenda of both the General Assembly and the Security Council, such as the case of Palestine.
The claim made by the representative of the occupying state of Morocco that the question of Western Sahara is being examined by the Security Council as a "regional dispute" is totally untrue. The conflict in Western Sahara is an international conflict in which the Frente POLISARIO and the occupying state of Morocco are recognised by relevant United Nations organs as the two parties to the conflict (Security Council resolutions 621 (1988), 658 (1990) and 690 (1991), General Assembly resolutions 34/37, 35/19 and 36/46 and relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions).
4. Morocco is an occupying power in Western Sahara and all its actions do not produce any legal effects on the international status of the Territory.
In his statement, the representative of the occupying state of Morocco claimed that "the economic, social, political and cultural rights of the populations" in Occupied Western Sahara were fully respected. He further claimed that "democratic elections" were held in the Territory.
The United Nations and all international and regional organisations have never recognised as legal the Moroccan occupation and annexation of Western Sahara. More precisely, in its resolutions 34/37 of 21 November 1979 and 35/19 of 11 November 1980, referred to above, the General Assembly deeply deplored the aggravation of the situation resulting from "the continued occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco" (OP 5 and OP 3 respectively; emphasis added).
Therefore, Morocco's presence in Western Sahara is an illegal, forcible occupation in violation of the UN Charter and the principle of the inadmissibility of acquisition of territories by force. Consequently, all actions carried out by the occupying state of Morocco in Occupied Western Sahara, including the sham elections referred to by the representative of the occupying state, are colonial practices imposed by force. As such, these actions have no legitimacy and cannot have any effect on the international status of the Territory.
The only vote that the peopleof Western Sahara must be called to today is through the ballot box in a referendum on self-determination organised under the supervision of the United Nations in line with the provisions of the UN-OAU Settlement Plan that was accepted by both parties to the conflict, the Frente POLISARIO and Morocco, and approved unanimously by the Security Council in its relevant resolutions.
After all, if the occupying state of Morocco claims that the Sahrawis in Occupied Western Sahara are "massively in favour" of its annexationist policy, then why has it rejected the referendum on self-determination that it had officially accepted and pledged to respect its outcome? The occupying state of Morocco fears the referendum because it knows very well that the people of Western Sahara will massively vote for independence. It is as simple as that.
The claim that the rights of the Sahrawis in Occupied Western Sahara are fully respected is a lie that fools no one. As documented by many international human rights organisations, the Sahrawis in Occupied Western Sahara are living in a veritable inferno where they are subjected daily to brutal repression and terror at the hands of Moroccan security forces away from the scrutiny by the international community.
Moreover, if the situation in Occupied Western Sahara were exactly as described by the representative of the occupying state, why does the entire Territory remain under a military siege and a total media blackout, and why do Moroccan authorities continue to deny access to UN bodies and special rapporteurs, NGOs, international media, and observers?
And why the occupying state of Morocco does not allow the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Mr Staffan de Mistura, to visit the Territory and have unfettered access to the Sahrawis living under occupation, as did his predecessors? The answer is very clear. The occupying state of Morocco has a lot to hide, and it fears that the world would know about the horrific consequences of its illegal occupation of Western Sahara.
Since charity begins at home, instead of propagating claims about the fictitious "development projects" in Occupied Western Sahara, the representative of the occupying state of Morocco should be very concerned about the abject poverty, misery, and the inhumane conditions in which most of his fellow Moroccans live, which continue to push many of them to risk their lives trying to reach Europe. To mention just one example, the world still remembers the horrible scenes of hundreds of Moroccans, including women carrying their babies, as they swam on plastic bottles to reach Spain in May 2021.
5. Morocco persists in its gross violations of human rights in Occupied Western Sahara, and its baseless allegations do not stand up to scrutiny.
In his statement, the representative of the occupying state of Morocco falsely accuses the Frente POLISARIO of "military recruitment of children" and "the diversion of humanitarian assistance".
Several United Nations, European Union (EU) and international agencies have been operating in the Sahrawi refugee camps for decades, and no one of them has ever backed up these kinds of claims. There is ample evidence to rebut these oft-repeated claims of the occupying state of Morocco. However, suffice it to refer to just two statements issued by none other than the European Union (EU), which is one of the donors that is present in the Sahrawi refugee camps.
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In his answer (E-001520/2021) given on 4 May 2021 on behalf of the European Commission, the High Representative/Vice-President, Mr Josep Borrell, stated that "The European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission...are not aware of recruitment of child soldiers by the POLISARIO Front or of their participation in military parades" (emphasis added).
Moreover, in his answer (ENE-004803/2020) given on 18 November 2020 on behalf of the European Commission, Mr Lenarčič pointed out that "The Commission is not aware of a misuse of humanitarian aid provided to the Sahrawi refugees" and that "the Commission is not aware of alleged child labour or forced recruitment in the Sahrawi Camps". The EU statements speak for themselves and need no further comment.
Reports of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and even the "supressed" report of the OHCHR's Mission to Western Sahara and the Refugee Camps of 2006, among others, all provide accounts of the unspeakable horrors and crimes committed by the occupying state of Morocco against Sahrawi civilians, including children, in Occupied Western Sahara.
Instead of propagating false claims about Sahrawi children, the representative of the occupying state of Morocco should have been very concerned about the shameful and miserable situation of children in his own country.
According to the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report, p. 399) issued in July 2022 by the Department of State of the United States of America, children in Morocco are exploited "for labour, domestic work, begging, and sex trafficking" and where "some foreign nationals, primarily from Europe and the Middle East, engage in child sex tourism in major Moroccan cities". This statement of fact speaks for itself and needs no further comment.
After decades of trying futilely to forcibly impose a fait accompli in Occupied Western Sahara and to "legitimise" its illegal occupation of the Territory, the occupying state of Morocco must realise that the people of Western Sahara will never give up their inalienable right to self-determination and independence and that their march to freedom is unstoppable. The sooner the occupying state of Morocco realises this irreversible reality, the better it will be for peace and security in the region.
Finally, unable to respond to the letter (S/2023/219) that was distributed to Member States as a document of the Security Council, the representative of the occupying state of Morocco has sought again to mislead Member States by making baseless claims regarding Western Sahara and the Frente POLISARIOduring his statement before the Special Committee on Decolonisation (C-24), but in vain. Even those that he had "convinced" through his "envelope diplomacy" to pathetically parrot some prepared statements were also to no avail.
The problem of the representative of the occupying state of Morocco, however, is that he confuses UN Member States and the international public opinion with his people back home that he is used to dupe with his mendacious propaganda and to impress with his "specticular" battles against windmills.
President Abraham Lincoln is said to have stated that: "You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time". The representative of the occupying state of Morocco to the United Nations may continue to fool himself and his domestic audience all the time, but he can never fool all the people all the time.
I would be most grateful if you would bring the present letter to the attention of the members of the Security Council.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration.
Dr Sidi M. Omar
Ambassador
Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations
Coordinator with MINURSO
