The PCP condemns the proposed resolution tabled by the United States of America, on the occasion of the UN Security Council vote on the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which is due to take place tomorrow, October 30.
Among other unacceptable aspects that undermine the legitimate rights of the Sahrawi people, the proposed resolution tabled by the US seeks to impose the so-called Moroccan “autonomy plan” as the sole basis for negotiations, which is nothing more than a ploy to provide cover for Morocco’s continued illegal occupation of Western Sahara.
The resolution tabled by the US also seeks to alter MINURSO’s core mandate regarding the organisation and safeguarding of a free and fair referendum in which the Sahrawi people can sovereignly express their will, thereby attempting to prevent the realisation of the Sahrawi people’s inalienable right to self-determination.
The Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination is enshrined in international law and has recently been reaffirmed by 152 UN Member States.
In accordance with and in compliance with the principles of the UN Charter, international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions, the PCP considers that the Portuguese Government, in the international forums in which it is represented, notably at the UN, must take an unequivocal public stand in support of a UN Security Council resolution: one that safeguards and advocates the realisation of the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination; one that reaffirms the original mandate and capabilities of MINURSO with a view to holding a free and fair referendum that gives effect to this right; and which does not impose the so-called Moroccan “autonomy plan” as the sole basis for negotiations.
A just and lasting solution to the conflict in Western Sahara necessarily requires the fulfilment of the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination, promised by the UN in 1991 and yet to be materialised.
The PCP reaffirms its solidarity with the determined struggle of the Sahrawi people and the Polisario Front, their legitimate representative, for respect for and fulfilment of the national rights of the Sahrawi people and an end to Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara.
