Polisario

Representation in Australia

fadadi@yahoo.com

June 25, 2001

PRESS RELEASE

WESTERN SAHARA: Whither the UN?

 

The UN Security Council is expected to discuss (on Tuesday 26 June 2001) new recommendations by the UN Secretary General and his Personal Envoy concerning the question of Western Sahara.

Unfortunately, the new recommendations call for the abandonment of the referendum process and its replacement by "autonomy" for Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty.

The UN recommendations are based on proposals made by the Moroccan government and aim to simply integrate Western Sahara into Morocco and thus legitimize the illegal occupation of the Territory.

It is crystal clear that these recommendations are contrary to the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and go against UN resolutions, international law and indeed the mandate of the UN in Western Sahara. In bowing to Moroccan pressure the UN is being used as an instrument of colonization rather than a facilitator of decolonization.

The Polisario Front and the Saharawi people express their utter rejection of the attempts to override the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, which has been supported by UN resolutions since 1963 and affirmed by the International Court of Justice.

The UN mandate in Western Sahara is to implement the peace plan accepted by both parties in 1988 and which is based on the organisation of a free and fair referendum of self-determination to allow the Saharawi people to choose their own future. The UN mandate comes under Chapter VI of the UN and hence requires the consent of the two parties in the conflict. Any deviations from this mandate will not only be a violation of the UN Charter itself but will also have dire consequences for peace and stability in Northwest Africa.

The responsibility of any deterioration of the situation in Western Sahara will rest on Morocco and its allies.

The Polisario Front Representation in Australia calls on the Australian people and the Government to do their utmost to rescue the referendum process and to avoid the failure of the UN peace plan for Western Sahara.


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