Frente POLISARIO Rejects U.S. Draft Resolution on Western Sahara, Calling It ‘Dangerous Departure’ from International Law
On the eve of the UN Security Council’s closed consultations on the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), the Frente POLISARIO reaffirmed its firm opposition to the U.S. draft resolution on the territory, warning that it represents a serious deviation from international law and the established framework for resolving the conflict.
In a letter addressed to Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations and current President of the UN Security Council, the Representative of the Frente POLISARIO to the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSO, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, stated that the U.S. text “is a very dangerous, unprecedented departure not only from the principles of international law underpinning Western Sahara as a question of decolonization, but also from the basis upon which the Security Council has addressed Western Sahara.”
He added that the draft resolution “contains elements that strike at the heart of the foundations of the UN peace process in Western Sahara and constitute a grave violation of the international status of the Territory.”
The Sahrawi diplomat underscored that the sovereignty over Western Sahara belongs exclusively to the Sahrawi people, who possess “an inalienable, non-negotiable, and imprescriptible right to self-determination to be exercised freely and democratically under the UN auspices.”
Dr. Omar stressed that any approach “that sets a prefixed framework for the negotiations or predetermines their outcome, circumscribes the free exercise by the Sahrawi people of their right to self-determination, or imposes a solution against their will is utterly unacceptable to the Frente POLISARIO.”
He recalled that the Frente POLISARIO “remains committed to achieving a just and lasting peace,” noting that it has “made tremendous concessions and sacrifices since the inception of the UN-led peace process.”
“As a goodwill gesture and in response to Security Council resolutions,” Dr. Omar revealed that the POLISARIO “submitted an expanded Proposal to the UN Secretary-General on 20 October 2025” and remains ready to engage positively in the peace process “based on the spirit and content of its expanded Proposal.”
However, he warned that “if the draft resolution were to pass without taking into account and effectively addressing the foregoing elements, [the POLISARIO] will not engage in any political process or negotiations based on the content of the draft resolution.”
The Sahrawi Representative urged all members of the Security Council to remain guided by the principles and purposes of the UN Charter and international law, and called on “all stakeholders to use their leverage constructively to create the necessary conditions for the two parties – the Frente POLISARIO and Morocco – to engage in serious, credible, and time-bound negotiations, without preconditions and in good faith.”
He concluded by reaffirming that such a process, under UN auspices, “is the only viable path that would lead to achieving just and enduring peace in our region.”
