Fourth Committee, 5th plenary meeting - General Assembly, 80th session
General Assembly
Date: 9 October 2025
Language: English
Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/en/ga/c4/80/5
Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations.

---

4th Committee · Chair [0:02]:

The fifth meeting of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, the fourth committee, is called to order. Before we continue, the remaining list of petitioners to be heard, and who picked up their badges, we hope that we will finish the hearing of petitioners tomorrow afternoon. In order to maximize the use of our conference services, bearing in mind that many delegations might be ready to take the floor, I'd like us to ask that we resume the general debate under the decolonization group items 54 to 58 of the agenda immediately after the conclusion of the hearings tomorrow afternoon. If there are no objections, it is so decided. Before we continue with the hearing of petitioners on the question of Western Sahara, allow me once again to remind all of the speakers of the need for decorum. I wish once again to emphasize that petitioners are given the floor to provide information through their statements only. Accordingly, no flags or banners should be displayed in the conference room. Please refrain from straying from the item and the territory under consideration. Otherwise, I will have to give the floor to the next speaker. I urge all petitioners to respect the time limit of three minutes for their intervention and to pay attention to the light on their microphone, which will begin to flash one minute to the end of the allotted time. The microphone will be automatically cut off once the allotted time has ended. Speakers are reminded to speak at a reasonable speed so that interpretation may be properly provided. And I remind speakers to submit their statements in advance to estatements@un.org to support the interpreters. Furthermore, please be advised that only accredited media representatives, escorted by a representative of the Department of Global Communications, will be permitted to film petitioner statements. In this regard, I recall that the meetings of the Fourth Committee are being webcast. We'll now continue to hear petitioners under the question of Western Sahara. I invite Ms. Julia Pache to take the floor. You have the floor.


Petitioner [4:19]:

Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, on June 24th, the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Judiciary Committee of the United States House of Representatives received a bill aiming to designate the Polisario as a terrorist organization. Entitled the Polisario Front Terrorist Designation Act, this initiative was introduced with bipartisan support. a sign that the danger posed by the separatist movement is no longer a matter of political debate, but of urgent security concern. It is a part of the global effort to combat terrorist groups wherever they threaten peace and stability. The introduction of this bill could not be more timely. It comes at a moment when the Polisario has revealed its true nature, a destabilizing proxy force operating on behalf of those who thrive on regional turmoil, as evidenced by its unilateral renunciation of the 1991 ceasefire. What we are witnessing today confirms what history has long shown: that the Polisario's role in the region has never been one of liberation, but of disruption and complicity with criminal networks. History reminds us that the Polisario was among the first armed groups to infiltrate the Sahel in the mid '70s, at a time when the region still enjoyed relative peace. Protected by its sponsors, it extended its activities outward, diversifying into drug trafficking, arms smuggling, cigarette contraband, and human trafficking. It offered safe passage to fugitives and war criminals, embedding itself in the economy of organized crime. At the center of this ecosystem lied its end of camps. Their location, coupled with the willful negligence of the host countries, makes them fertile ground for infiltration. Terrorist groups, particularly Al-Qaeda and Islamic Maghreb, have long treated these camps as a recruitment reservoir, exploiting the despair of youth stripped of hope and dignity. Vulnerable populations in these camps have been a goldmine for radical recruiters, who understand that separatist grievances can be harnessed to fuel jihadist ambitions. The example of Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi illustrates the danger. Raised in camps, indoctrinated in violence by the Polisario, he became one of the most notorious figures before founding MUJAO in Mali, and later the first nucleus of the so-called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. He masterminded atrocity across the region, including the 2011 kidnapping of three European humanitarian workers, a crime followed by a ransom deal negotiated with the Polisario involvement. He is one figure among many Polisario members who have crossed the threshold into terrorism. Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, the bill presented in the U.S. Congress is therefore not random. It is recognition of a truth too long ignored, that the Polisario has become inseparable from the network of terrorism and trafficking that menace the Sahara and the Sahel.


4th Committee · Chair [7:20]:

I thank the petitioner. And I now invite Mr. Jorge Marinho Brandao to take the floor.


ASAWARI [7:41]:

We wish to congratulate the United Nations for opening the agenda. and listening to petitioners regarding colonization in Western Sahara. This is the first time that the Association for Solidarity for the Self-Determination of the Sahari people, based in Brasilia, in Brazil, has presented a statement before the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly. Brazil hopes that the UN will take the necessary steps to resolve the conflict in Western Sahara. In addition to institutional expectations, there is a growing social movement in Brazil in favor of decolonization and the consequent self-determination of Western Sahara. This is supported by several central organizations of Brazilian workers and students, as well as political parties that have held leadership positions in the government for.

Nearly 25 years.

The Brazilian constitution reserves the right to self-determination of peoples. The solidarity movement is becoming more organized and interconnected. In this petition, we have received the support by organizations such as the Association of Maranhao and the Bahian Committee for the Recognition of for recognition. The Polisario Front in Brazil is currently represented by Ahmed Moulay and it spares no effort in informing Brazilians about Western Sahara. Since independence, Brazilians have repelled all attempts to usurp their self-determination. Popular demonstrations regularly reaffirm democracy and the determination to build our future. We wish the same for the Sahrawi people. Mr. Chair, for all these reasons, ASAWARI feels confident in putting forward legitimate positions before this fourth committee of the UN to, one, immediately release Sahrawi prisoners in Morocco, two, guarantee the exploitation of the wealth and natural resources of Western Sahara under the administration of the Sahrawi people. Three, ensure respect for the political, social, and economic self-determination of the Sahrawi people. And four, for the UN commitment to fully engage in the decolonization processes. Thank you very much.


4th Committee · Chair [10:27]:

I thank the petitioner. And I now invite Mr. Omar Lamine to address the committee.


Speaker 6 [10:37]:

Good afternoon. Thank you very much, delegates. I take the floor once again this year as the representative of the Balearic Islands, and I do so on behalf of my people who for decades have resisted exile in the.

Desert, the Sahrawi people. 50 years ago, we brought the Arab Sahrawi Republic convinced of freedom and sovereignty were inalienable rights. And today, half a century later, we continue to live under Moroccan occupation, with families condemned into exile and entire generations of children that are only aware of field tents, the desert, and the lack of a dignified future. The Sahari people are a strong people. Our strength is born out of the sacrifice of our and fathers who taught us dignity in struggle it is water and born out of exile that has turned us into a resilient society that is able to resist with hope but this hope cannot continue to be an indefinite sentence with the Sahrawi people cannot continue to be condemned into exile We have fought peacefully and fully faithfully to international law, but we cannot accept the international community to ask us to wait. Until when? That's my question. No people can live in the desert without a fatherland, without a future, without being able to have plans for our life with freedom and dignity. Therefore, we ask the United Nations to shoulder its responsibility to make effective the pending mandate so Sahari people can finally freely decide because we do not want to see more children grow up on uh on the sand we cannot continue to see this among Generations uh living in a desert which is not our rightful place our home we want to return to Western Sahara to live in peace and freedom to build just like any other people a decent future a home the Saharan people will not surrender we have resisted for 5 decades, but we cannot accept waiting any longer. It is now time for empathy with us, for justice, for us to be able to return home. It is now time for the world to look at other people just as like the Palestinian people that is even more sacred by occupation and exile. Today, once again, we have to speak up for the Sahari people and all those people that continue to resist We are not on our own. We are part of this same universal struggle for dignity and human rights. But when a people is oppressed, all peoples have freedom and the duty to speak up and say, "Enough is enough." I thank the.


4th Committee · Chair [13:42]:

Petitioner, and I now invite Mr. Haj Admay to take the floor and to address the committee.


Speaker 8 [13:55]:

Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, it's a pleasure to address this committee on behalf of the Sahari Movement for Peace.

This is a truly Sahari political organization.

Born five years ago as an expression of our people's exhaustion and frustration after half a century of suffering.

We're not the voice of the Polisario. nor of Morocco, nor of any other neighboring country or actor in the region. We are a new voice, that of the Saharis that are tired of war and exile, but also the voice.

Of those who still believe in a future of peace.

For more than 50 years, our people have lived trapped between confrontation and uncertainty. Divided families, young people without prospects, children born under canvas tents, older people dying far from their homeland. Every life lost in exile is an open wound and reminds us that we have failed ourselves. We failed as victims and actors in the conflict, and also the international community, which 30 years ago promised a peaceful solution that never came, has also failed. Today, we have not come here to repeat slogans or to become entangled in irreconcilable positions that have monopolized this committee.

For decades, we have come to suggest another path, that of dialogue, coexistence and commitment.

This is a third way that rejects extremism, because we know that intransigence and radicalism, just like weapons and walls, never bring freedom or prosperity. Our voice is that of our elders who dreamt of returning home before they died, of the young people who refused to inherit.

Endless exile, and the mothers who wish to raise their.

Children under a sky of peace and freedom, not under the shadow of a rifle or another artefact of death.

Many of us have decided to end.

A long journey to nowhere, to close the cycle of confrontation and to open a cycle of hope. because as Erasmus of Rotterdam said six centuries ago, "Peace, even if it's imperfect, is always better.

Than a just war." We don't aspire to glory or even to have a place in history books.

We just ask for the.

Opportunity to contribute to a peaceful solution and to ensure that our people can finally live with.

Dignity on their own land. We therefore come to extend our hand with humility and firmness, convinced that reconciliation between Saharans and Moroccans is not a concession, but a duty to our people and the future of the whole region. The Saharan Movement for Peace is a new, realistic and constructive partner of the UN in its effort to help Saharans and Moroccans write a new story of peace and coexistence in the Sahara and throughout.


4th Committee · Chair [16:56]:

I thank the petitioner. and I now invite Mr. Pedro Manuel Alvarez to address the committee.


Petitioner [17:11]:

Thank you very much, Chairman, delegates, a very good afternoon to you all.

The case of Western Sahara is a pending debt for the international community. The Sahrawi people has for half a century been waiting for promise to be kept, that it's right for self-determination recognized by the General Assembly and supported by the International Court of Justice. The Western Sahara remains on the list of non-self-governing territories of the United Nations. The decolonization process has not concluded, and this committee has the responsibility of ensuring that the last colony in Africa can freely decide on its the Sahari movement, it has been peacefully and with dignity waiting for a peaceful solution. However, the people continue to suffer from the occupation of its territory, repression of basic rights and harsh conditions of exile in refugee camps.

Delegates.

International law is clear on this. No solution is legitimate if it is not freely decided on by the Saharawi people. Maintaining the current status would not only prolong an historic injustice, it would also erode the credibility of the United Nations in its fundamental mission of bringing an end to colonialism. A Spanish Government that changed its foreign policy with regard to Saharawi people without the support of the Parliament. Therefore, we appeal to this committee and to the entire international community to step up their efforts to ensure that there is a just, transparent referendum, a referendum that would enable Sahrawis to express their sovereign voice and to build a future in peace and freedom. Silence and indifference are not an option. Fifty years on, the wound of the Sahara remains open, and it is crucial for the United Nations, particularly the members of the Security Council, to act decisively. I invite you to travel to Tindouf, as we did recently as members of the Balearic Islands Parliament, to look in the face of all of the displaced persons who, despite their precarity, have not lost their hope in a just solution. Today, speaking up for the Saharawi people means also providing support and defending the universal principle that gave rise to this committee: no people should be deprived of its land. Ladies and gentlemen, history will judge us on our ability to uphold this principle. The Sahari people is not asking for privileges, just justice. And justice, as you are well aware, cannot continue to be postponed. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [20:10]:

I thank the petitioner.

And I now invite Mr. Jimmy Eliasov to take the floor.


Colombia · Petitioner [20:20]:

Chair, distinguished delegates, I come from the delegation of Colombia. The Sahrawi people continues to be deprived of its right to self-determination.

Decades of resolutions from this organization and promises unkept have led to exile and silence.

The referendum continues to be delayed, and with every delay, we see ongoing mistrust towards the international community. In the refugee camps, entire families survive solely thanks to humanitarian aid. Young people who should be coming up with plans for their life and, in fact, live in uncertainty. This reality in practice denies global sustainability and goals such as work, justice and peace. We cannot overlook the risk of prolonging this situation. The patience of a people cannot go on forever. Every day without progress increases frustration and threatens a peaceful solution, what message do we send to the world if, for half a century, a people has lived deprived of its freedom? The responsibility of this organisation is clear. It is not enough to renew mandates or pass resolutions. We need political will to guarantee that MINUSO can comply with the mandate that gave rise to it to organise a referendum on self-determination that is just, transparent and binding. The Sahrawi people is not asking for compassion, it is asking for justice. It's not asking for privileges, it's asking for consistency with the principles in the UN Charter. We're not asking for more time, it's asking for an inalienable right to decide on its future and the right to self-determination. Today, I appeal to this meeting, let's not condemn another Sahrawi generation to be born and die in exile. The time for promises has come to an end, it's time now to comply. with justice to guarantee peace and to realize the right to self-determination. Only thus will we be able to look the Sahrawi people in the face and to say with dignity that the international community has not forgotten them and the international community has responded. The right path can only be justice, the prospect could only be peace, the answer could only be freedom for the Sahrawi people. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [22:53]:

I'd like to thank the petitioner. And I now invite Mr. Mohammed Sharif to take the floor.


Speaker 14 [23:05]:

Chair, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished delegates, I take the floor. behalf of the Sahrawi Movement for Peace and Respect. It is an organization consisting of thousands of Sahrawi volunteers seeking to turn the page of the conflict and build a peaceful future. At the second conference in October 2023 in Dakar, we presented the foundations for a special status for the Sahara that fully respects the sovereignty and the symbols of the Kingdom of Morocco, while guaranteeing a legislative, political, and judicial system in line with international standards of autonomy. This project is a genuine Magna Carta for the Sahrawis. It would allow them to manage their own affairs. through modern institutions based on sovereignty, legality, and democracy. It provides for an executive branch, a parliament, and a council of notables, an independent justice branch, and local security forces working in coordination with the kingdom's institutions. The integration of this status into the Moroccan constitution with the necessary guarantees would pave the way towards a historic reconciliation and put an end to a conflict that has lasted for nearly 50 years. For Sahrawis, this would be an opportunity to return to their lands, to find dignity and actively participate in the region's development, rather than remaining prisoners of a painful status quo in the Tindouf camps. Our efforts are Based on efforts seen around the world from Basque Country, Catalonia, and Kurdistan, the expanded autonomy proposals provided by Morocco in 2017 is a solid starting point. We call on the international community, and the United Nations in particular, to support this pragmatic and realistic initiative, which brings the legitimate rights the Sahrawi people and the interests of the Kingdom of Morocco closer together. After decades of suffering and an impasse, it is time to offer the Sahrawi people a credible alternative of peace, dignity, and living together. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [25:32]:

I thank the petitioner, and I now invite Ms. Sandra Sofia Rodriguez Lopez to take the floor.


Speaker 16 [25:50]:

Chairman, delegates, on behalf of Friends for a Free Sahari people.

I thank you for the opportunity to address this committee.

50 years after a conflict, the only.

People affected are the Sahari people who continue to live in the refugee camps and occupied territories. 50 years which are very easy for someone who has the privilege of not having to live this reality every day. Let's remember Sultana Kaya, a Sahari activist in occupied territories who suffered various violations of human rights such as intimidation.

Violence, sexual violence, abuse, house arrest, among other things.

Her crime was raising the flag of Western Sahara on the balcony of her house. How can we forget that due to a strike at university, the Moroccan army brutally cracked down and led to a loss of an eye. These are just a few violations of human rights against women that we are aware of in this regard, but there are currently hundreds that we are unaware of, because let's remember the latest report of the General Secretary General.


4th Committee · Chair [27:15]:

I interrupt the petitioner. We have a request from the delegation of Morocco.


Morocco [27:23]:

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, and good afternoon to everyone in the room. Just again, one of the red lines that we were discussing earlier yesterday and earlier today when you started this meeting, Mr. Chair, to kindly ask again the petitioners to refrain from mentioning any institutions, including the army, the army institution of the Kingdom of Morocco, because this is not the discussion of today. Just a quick parenthesis so that to reorient the discussion of the petitioner and clarify things, Sultana Khay is here. She is not a human rights defender. She is taking a Kalashnikov. And I kindly ask everyone to check that. So there is no need here to spread propaganda about fake cases and to concentrate on the discussion that we're having here under the matter of this afternoon without mentioning any institutions of the country. I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [28:25]:

I thank the distinguished delegation of Morocco, and I give the floor to the delegation of Algeria.


Algeria [28:32]:

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair, and good afternoon, colleagues. Just here once again, Mr. Chair, to reiterate our request that we have made yesterday to ask the delegation of Morocco, first of all, to maintain the decorum and also allow the petitioners who have traveled from afar to express their position freely and openly, and don't use this point of orders in favor of using them as a statements filled with the defamatory information. Thank you so much.


4th Committee · Chair [29:09]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Algeria. I give the floor to the delegation of Morocco.


Morocco [29:16]:

Thank you again and apologies. Well, I do respect the opinion of my dear brother from Algeria and definitely Algeria is not a bystander. It is a party to the conflict. That's why they're taking the floor after whenever I take the floor. This is not a defamatory, Mr. Chair. It's everywhere on internet. So it is a case that we're having and we should not blind the intelligence of the member states with fake propaganda. Why I took the floor is not even about the substance, is about mentioning the army of Morocco.

I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [29:55]:

I thank the distinguished delegation of Morocco. And if you allow me to continue conducting the meeting, I will now proceed to give the floor once again to the petitioner, indicating that please could we respect decorum for this meeting.

And please limit your statement to the situation that we are considering.

You have one minute 30 seconds to continue with your statement. Thank you.


Speaker 24 [30:29]:

Since 2015, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has not had access to the occupied territories. This, indeed, is a violation of Security Council resolutions, including the latest resolution, 2756. Why do they block access? What are they hiding? In Mexico, we have a saying that says, "Someone who doesn't owe anything has nothing to fear." How long will this go on? Chair, how long will it go on that we continue normalizing the violations of human rights? How long before the UN does something tangible and real? How long will it be until we have a referendum? In addition, we recall that the UN Charter mentions that among its purposes is self-determination of peoples and non-intervention. These are principles that are shared with Mexico's foreign policy. This solution can only be reached, however.

Once we comply with Security Council Resolution 690.

That is why I ask you, as bodies that guarantee peace, and Member States, to take the right action to facilitate the 1991 plan that both Morocco and the Frente Polisario have already accepted. We now demand a free Sahara.


4th Committee · Chair [31:55]:

I thank the petitioner. and I would like to take this opportunity to remind speakers to read their speeches at a reasonable speed so that interpreters can do the best possible work. I'd also like to remind all speakers of the need to maintain decorum when they make their statements.

And finally, Please limit your statements to the situation under consideration by the Committee.

I now invite Ms. Priscilla Tapia to address the Committee.


Speaker 26 [32:46]:

Excellencies, I take the floor on behalf of those who defend the legitimate right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination. to denounce the systematic despoilment of their.

Natural resources in their illegally occupied territories, illegally occupied by the Kingdom of Morocco. Moroccan companies and foreign companies, mainly from Spain, fish in Sahari waters. They take our mining resources in a territory in which the original people was not consulted, nor do they receive any benefit. The export of phosphates administered by the Moroccan state company OCP generates millions of dollars every year that do not reach the Sahari people. The same happens with industrial fishing. because more than 60% of the catches declared by Morocco come from the waters of the Western Sahara, in overt violation of the rulings of the EU Court of Justice, which prohibits this in fishing agreements. This situation contravenes the fundamental principles of international law, in particular the principle of the permanent sovereignty over natural resources, recognised by the UN General Assembly and reaffirmed by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which warned that natural resources from Western Sahara must not be exploited without the express consent of its people. In light of this reality, silence is equivalent to complicity. The economic exploitation of the occupied territory deprives the Sahari people of their dignity, their livelihoods and their future. Therefore, on behalf of the Ecuadorian Association of Friendship with Sahari People, I respectfully would like to make the following three petitions. First, ask all states and corporations involved to immediately cease any economic activity in Western Sahara until the free and expressed consent of the Sahrawi people is guaranteed in line with international law and particularly the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Two, urge the Human Rights Council and the High Commissioner to send a verification mission to assess the environmental, social, and economic impact of this plundering. And three, recommend this committee include the plundering of Sahari natural resources in its official reports on decolonization as an economic impact of the occupation. We're not asking for charity, but rather justice.


4th Committee · Chair [35:44]:

Thank you. I would like to thank the petitioner. And I now invite Mr. Shoji Matsumoto to address the committee.


Japan · President [36:00]:

Mr. Chair, I'm Shoji Matsumoto from Japan, an international law expert and the president of the International Center for the Study of Separatism in Tokyo. I wish to address the issue of Western Sahara. Its continued presence on the agenda of these committees, in my view, legally outdated, politically counterproductive, and strategically risky. Legally Spain withdrew from the territory under the Madrid Accords of 1975. Morocco is therefore not a colonial power, but a post-colonial state reintegrating a historically sovereign territory. Since the 1990s, the Security Council has been the competent body addressing this question. Politically, debates in this committee have become outdated and often based on an erroneous premise. Since no colonial power has remained in this territory after Spain's withdrawal, The Committee should update its approach and focus on facilitating solutions rather than perpetuating a past paradigm. But there is also a more pressing dimension: international security. Numerous intelligence services, governments and independent research institutes have expressed concern over the presario's connection with terrorist and criminal networks. Japanese intelligence reports in 2011, 13, and 14 warned of radicalization trends in the teen camps. Police investigations across the region have revealed linkages between those camps and the Sahel-based terrorist groups. The 2013 attack in Algeria, where 10 Japanese citizens lost their lives, underlined the magnitude of these risks. These facts show that Western Sahara is a pressing security challenge. Maintaining this matter on the agenda of the Fourth Committee is a mistake. The Security Council remains the only appropriate forum to address it.


4th Committee · Chair [38:22]:

I interrupt the speaker. I have a request from the delegation of Algeria.


Algeria [38:26]:

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So here once again, respectfully, ask you to request the petitioner also here to respect the decorum and also to limit themselves to the topic and the discussion and refrain from disseminating defamatory information thank.


4th Committee · Chair [38:52]:

You so much I thank the distinguished delegation of Algeria I get the floor to the delegation of Morocco.


Morocco [38:58]:

Thank you Mr. chair and just We also regret, actually, in this case, that Algeria seeks to silence a petitioner on a very factual, really a factual incident that happened, and in which a number of victims were there, including, according to the statements, and also according to the news I'm following here on internet, confirms the death of Japanese nationals. So this is just a piece of news, we thank you. And it joins also what we're discussing here is the international security, the region security. So it's also part of the matter of the discussion for this afternoon.

Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [39:39]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Morocco. I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Algeria.


Algeria [39:45]:

Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. And honestly, I fail to understand why the representative of Morocco mentions my country at every opportunity. I believe that she didn't yet grasp that the subject today under discussion is Western Sahara and not Algeria. Thank you so much.

Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [40:14]:

I thank the representative of Algeria, and I give the floor once again to the representative of Morocco.


Morocco [40:20]:

With due respect to my dear brother from Algeria, he knows better maybe the subject, but also let me add the dimension that there are populations sequestrated in the Tindouf camps, and there is a situation of instability there, insecurity there, because those camps are administered by an armed separatist group, Polisario, and that group is having links with the terrorism in the Sahel region, and those are the ones who commit terrorist attacks in those regions. That's exactly joined what the petitioner was saying in their statement.

I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [40:58]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Morocco. And if you'll allow me to continue with this afternoon's meeting. I now return the floor to the petitioner. I ask him, please, to limit himself to matters relating to the territory that we are currently considering. If that's not the case, I will be forced to give the floor to the next speaker.

You have 35 seconds left.


Japan · President [41:30]:

Thank you. Removing this item would strengthen institutional coherence within the UN, allow resources to be concentrated on real threats, and move the international community closer to a realistic and durable solution. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [41:52]:

I thank the petitioner, and I now invite Ms. Gloria Patricia Gomez Saluaga to take the floor.


Colombia · Human rights defender [42:10]:

Chair, distinguished delegates, I'm grateful for this opportunity to participate at this fourth committee, Special Political and Decolonization Committee.

I'm here today in from Colombia as a human rights defender and I address you to express our solidarity with the Sahari people.

In 2018, I was able to visit

the Sahari camps in the Sahara Desert, which allowed me to see it firsthand the impact that this conflict has had on the community, the lack of access to fundamental rights on their daily lives, particularly the fact that they are uprooted from their territory and their customs Today, I would like to particularly recognise the struggle of the Saharawi people as an example of resistance, resilience and determination for the defence of their rights and customs. For decades, the Saharawi people have struggled for its independence and the right to self-determination. It is an urgent need to seek and provide a lasting and just solution. de-escalate a worse conflict in the future. We need to build peace between different parties, and we urgently need to have a specific, real dialogue and a meeting between the different sides to build this. We also think it's time to underscore the efforts of the United Nations, recognize the inalienable right of the self-determination of the Sahari people. But in this body also, it's important to speak up about this right. Let we appeal for pooled efforts to promote fundamental rights, the right to territory and to defending women, children and adolescents. and also to understanding the roots and customs of the Sahari people. To conclude, we reiterate our support for the Sahari people, their freedom, It is fundamental for the international community to continue working together to ensure respect for the rights of the Saharawi people and for the holding of a self-determination referendum. We need to continue to build and strengthen solidarity and support for the struggle of the Saharawi people in the Sahrawi Sahara Republic so that together we can forge a just solution. This is a debt that we owe to the Saharawi people. We don't need more passivity. The decolonization of peoples must be made a reality. And you in this committee have the right, the duty and the obligation to uphold this for freedom and self-determination of the Saharawi people. Thank you very much.


4th Committee · Chair [45:06]:

I thank the petitioner, and I now invite Mr. Mohamed Abda to address the committee.


Petitioner [45:19]:

Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen. When we listen to some of those who take the floor on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, we instantly think of a very sad image comes to mind. However, some use the topic of human rights and self-determination to further their own goals. They come with revolutionary slogans, but these slogans are just there to mislead and to conceal their real intentions, which are expansionist. To do this, they hire mercenaries to attack their neighbors, as is the case with the Polisario Front, or else they do so online, or else they do that through letters to international organizations. They use misleading revolutionary slogans and language such as the rights of people to self-determination. This with the policy of countries who support the gang of Polisario, who supposedly defend the rights of people to self-determination. The problem is that they use this right of the people's to self-determination. However, that right is meaningless to the generals who control of the country and there is no Sahrawi people. This is just an imaginary concept and they deny them the right. They deny that right. They deny that right to other people in other countries of the world working to self-determination. This is an absurdity in a country of oil and gas. They only have interest in this strategic area, which has access to the Atlantic Ocean. People in Tindouf are living in horrific conditions. This is the fate that Morocco has experienced. This is being a neighbor with a country that has no scruples when it comes to mistreating the people in the camps. They are denied absolutely everything, the basic necessities. They're victims of colonialism. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [48:12]:

I'd like to once again

remind speakers to please read their statements at a reasonable speed so that interpreters can do the best possible job.

And I'd also like to remind you to limit your statements to the territory and situation that is currently under consideration. I now invite Mr. Carlos Eduardo Rodriguez to take the floor.


Petitioner [48:51]:

I take the floor to make an urgent appeal to the political, economic, and religious and other systems of the world.

Normality has normalized death. It has become indifferent to the pain of the other, particularly the most vulnerable children. the genocide of the Palestinian people doesn't move us anymore, nor does the occupation of Morocco over the Western Sahara since 1965, when the so-called Green March led to occupation over the dignity of a people. And I ask, how can we change our view of the world? Why should we continue to destroy peoples in the midst of the 21st century. Refugee camps and occupied territories are an open wound where children live in precarious conditions. Mandela reminded us today is today, the past is the past, and we have to look ahead to the future. But this future for the Sahari peoples remains pending. The forced and prolonged displacement perpetuates the indignity of entire generations in the Tindouf camps and the occupied territories. International indifference to this humanitarian crisis is increasingly alarming. as was condemned by the human rights activist, Manrres Marade. The leaders and people of Africa are called now to act and to shoulder their responsibilities and to address the injustice, impunity of the arrogant kingdom of Morocco, which sits by with,


4th Committee · Chair [50:42]:

I interrupt the speaker, I have a request for the floor from the distinguished delegate of Morocco.


Morocco [50:51]:

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. And we are having here another example of those using this platform to really express their arrogant manner of thinking, which is disrespectful to this quorum, disrespectful to the member states. We didn't want to interrupt the speaker before, but mentioning the royal institution and using insults. This is a red line, not acceptable. Not acceptable. First of all, the speaker mentioned the Green March and said the so-called Green March. The Green March is glorious, is historic, is peaceful. It was visionary. It was a way to solve a situation in a very peaceful and smart way. So this is just to correct the person who just spoke, which I will not accept to call as a petitioner, because a petitioner never would say that a king of a member state is whatever. I'm not going to repeat the word that he said. So through you, Mr. Chair, I would like to ask that this speaker either regret or present apologies or refrain from even continuing the speech. Because this is a red line. I thank you very much.


4th Committee · Chair [52:21]:

I thank the distinguished delegation of Morocco. I give the floor once again to the petitioner.

And I ask him, please, to limit his statement to the matters pertaining to the territory under consideration and to do so with the corresponding decorum. You have one minute and seven seconds left.


Petitioner [52:55]:

Every day, systematically, the rights of Sahari children and their human rights are violated. Occupying the territory of Sahari people is robbing them of their future. We cannot allow that. The children are the ambassadors of a possible future. And therefore, we cannot allow colonization and neglect to continue to be the norm, because defending Sahari children means defending life, justice, and hope for a better world for the free Sahara.


4th Committee · Chair [53:33]:

I thank the petitioner, and I invite Mr. Said Yachia to take the floor.


Petitioner [53:44]:

Mr.

Chairman, distinguished members of the Fourth Committee, the Sahrawi people is living an immense tragedy and a violent, intolerable injustice. Western Sahara has, since 1963, been registered as a non-self-governing territory with the UN, and Western Sahara is on the list of decolonization matters of which our August committee has been seized. The Sahrawi people have an inalienable right to self-determination and independence in accordance with Resolution 1514. The International Court of Justice, the European Court of Justice, the African Court of Human and People's Rights have clearly recognized a decolonization process through a self-determination referendum that is clear, honest, and sincere under UN supervision. In violation of all of these legal decisions and in violation of the United Nations Charter, in violation of the AU Charter and the Constituent Act of the African Union, despite all relevant resolutions, Morocco unilaterally and illegally continues to occupy the territories of Western Sahara. In signing the ceasefire agreement under the auspices of the UN in 1991, the Sahrawi people expressed its trust in the UN, which sponsored a peace plan for Western Sahara, which the UN was decided on a referendum for the people of Sahara. However, Morocco did an outface and for 30 years have been using avoidance maneuvers and endless other tactics to block any developments that would lead to a just and definitive solution in accordance with international law, one that respects the will of the Saharai people. Morocco is denying the people of Saharai the right to freely choose their own destiny, Chair, Western Sahara is not the kingdom of Morocco and Morocco must withdraw from Western Sahara. International law has said this very clearly and international law can be applied. The international community must oppose this violation of international law by Morocco and must do so firmly. All countries must demand that Morocco respects the UN Charter and All countries must oppose Morocco's attempts to impose a fait accompli in Western Sahara. We must also uphold the obligations to the Sahrawis. This is a matter of the credibility of the UN and what it promised to Western Sahara.


4th Committee · Chair [56:46]:

I thank the petitioner. And I'd once again like to remind all petitioners to maintain the decorum called for for this afternoon's meeting. I now invite Mr. Samir Wasis to address the committee.


Petitioner [57:13]:

Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen, Members of the Fourth Committee, the Moroccan occupation of the Western Sahara is a colonial occupation in every sense. It is a blatant challenge of international legitimacy and UN laws and runs counter to the principles of this organization. The Moroccan occupation in the Western Sahara has crossed all legal and political lines. Its continuation is a colonial crime in accordance with the UN Charter and General Assembly resolutions. Its attempts to set a by plundering the wealth and changing the demographies are colonial policies that run counter to European court which has said that it is a separate territory from Morocco. It also runs counter to the ICJ advisory. Therefore, this is not a political topic to be discussed. This is a blatant violation of international law provisions, and there is no other interpretation to it. What the Western Sahara people are going through in terms of arbitrary detentions and sham trials and violations of against human rights defenders constitutes crimes against humanity. These systemic violations are no longer a secret. They are documented in human rights organizations and in the testimonies of the Sahrawi people. The failure of the international community to set up a mechanism to monitor these violations through the MINURSO encourages the occupier to continue in their crimes without accountability. They have a determined -- they are determined to undermine the UN Charter. Therefore, being silent means that you are indirectly complicit in this crime. We reject the attempts of some states to establish and support the occupation by opening diplomatic presentations there or through signing illegal economic treaties that plunder the wealth of the Sahrawi people without their approval. This is a direct participation in a colonial crime. We call on your committee to take practical steps immediately to expand the authorities of MINURSO and to have a timeline for the referendum.

In conclusion, I give thanks.


4th Committee · Chair [1:00:16]:

I thank the petitioner. I now invite Ms. Kathleen Thomas to address the committee.


Petitioner [1:00:30]:

Members of the Fourth Committee, today I will discuss again the defects in Morocco's autonomy proposal. But before I do so, I would like to note for the record that it is impossible to discuss intelligently this proposal without discussing the ways in which Morocco's laws, constitutions, and institutions affect it. As I have said in previous statements, several details about Morocco's constitution and laws, and in particular the powers they give the monarchy, would render the privileges given the people by Morocco's proposal virtually meaningless in practice. Of course, Morocco could choose to eliminate the provision in its proposal that the people in the region would be subject to the Moroccan constitution and provide that the prerogatives of the king, particularly his ability to issue dahirs that supersede any other law, would not apply in the territory. It could also provide that the courts in the territory would not be subject to the Moroccan Supreme Court and constitutional courts, whose members are largely appointed by the king. It could go further and provide that the military would cease to remain in the territory to incarcerate persons who criticize government actions or are deemed in any way a threat to national security. It could provide that the people who could vote and participate in the government of the territory must be native Sahrawis and not the thousands of Moroccans it has resettled in the territory, contrary to the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, who today outnumber the native Sahrawis three to one. Finally, it can ensure that the resources of the territory are placed squarely in the hands of the people of the territory, that the Moroccan Phosphate Company, OCP, must relinquish all interests in the Bou Craa mine, that the King must relinquish all interests in the agricultural lands his companies now own, that Nauriva and other companies--.


4th Committee · Chair [1:02:27]:

I interrupt the speaker. I have a request for the floor from the delegation of Morocco.


Morocco [1:02:34]:

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. But we are not discussing today the autonomy proposal of the Kingdom of Morocco per se, but we're having a situation under, you know, the agenda of this committee. But we do appreciate the creativity and the biased, selective reading of the autonomy proposal of Morocco that the petitioner is presenting. However, I'm sure that the Kingdom of Morocco would be more than happy to listen listen to different perspectives from different people around the world to bring their contribution to the autonomy together with those who are concerned with the conflict, which is the two countries, Morocco and Algeria, and bring them together around the table to speak about the autonomy. However, this is just to correct the petitioner that we are not discussing the substance of the autonomy, but one day, of course, around the table, we will be more than happy to have the concerned parties around the table, discuss deeply the disposals and the articles of the autonomy. And of course, we are very transparent and we will take into consideration different proposals, including from civil society.

I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:03:56]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Morocco, and I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Algeria.

I interrupt the petitioner.

I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Algeria.

Algeria had the floor.


Algeria [1:04:19]:

Mr. Chair, I will be very brief. Just here that believe that we must question ourselves whether this session is truly dedicated to hearing the petitioners on the question of Western Sahara, or whether it has become a session and a platform for one delegation monologue. So that's a question that I would like to get a response on it. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.

I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:04:57]:

I thank the distinguished delegate of Algeria. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Morocco.


Morocco [1:05:03]:

Apologies, Mr. Chair, to take the floor again, but all what I have been saying was qualified by my brother from Algeria as a monologue. And this is very weird because I was not making a monologue. My delegation is not making a monologue. We heard some fake information, propaganda about the prerogatives of the King of Morocco, His Majesty, within the framework of autonomy. This is not under discussion now. We also heard what the army would be doing under the autonomy, and this is not, again, the discussion. So this is not a monologue. I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:05:47]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Morocco. I now once again give the floor to the petitioner and I ask them please to limit themselves to the matters relating to the territory under consideration and.

Otherwise I will have to give the floor to the next speaker. You have one minute left.


Petitioner [1:06:10]:

I just want to point out that since other petitioners have spoken in support of the Moroccan autonomy proposal, I think it's only fair that I be allowed to talk about some of its defects. As I was saying, the other companies controlled by the king must relinquish all interest in wind farms and.

Other renewable energy sources.


4th Committee · Chair [1:06:32]:

I interrupt the speaker. The delegation of Morocco has the floor.


Morocco [1:06:38]:

I think we've been clear. This is not a discussion about whatever deficient or qualifiers the petitioner is using regarding the King's prerogatives. So I kindly ask the petitioner to stay in the framework of the discussion that we're having today, because I think that the subject matter that she's having is out of topic and out of order and also disrespectful. Because otherwise, Mr. Chair, I'll be interrupting this petitioner, and this is not what we want to do. We really want to hear constructive discussions. I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:07:27]:

I thank the distinguished delegation of Morocco. I give the floor to the delegation of South Africa.


South Africa [1:07:35]:

Thank you, Chair. Firstly, we appreciate the manner in which you have maintained control and decorum throughout this arduous process. Hopefully, we can resolve this matter so that we don't have to have almost 200 petitioners on this matter again next year. We understand and fully accept that there may be times that a very valid point of order is raised. We accept this and we commend the times when this is done fairly and diplomatically. What we do not accept is when diplomats begin to describe petitioners, pronounce on what petitioners should be saying, or degrade petitioners. In rugby terminology, we say, "Play the player, not the ball." "Play the ball, not the player." My apologies. All members of the United Nations are members of this esteemed committee. We all have a responsibility to hear the petitioners, on all sides of this discussion and to consider their words wisely. We all carry the burden of responsibility towards peace for Moroccans and Sahrawis. Therefore, we call on all diplomats present and watching online to treat all the petitioners equally and fairly, and that we bear in mind our obligation towards a just, lasting and peaceful settlement of this dispute. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:09:04]:

I thank the distinguished delegation of South Africa, and I give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Morocco once again.


Morocco [1:09:11]:

Mr. Chair, quickly, just to respond. You know, I play the ball, actually. And in this case, the ball is the distortion of facts, is the deep fakes and deep news, fake news. So, not the person delivering it. So, I respond to what was said in the room, not to who said it. This is a quick answer to my dear brother also from South Africa.

I.


4th Committee · Chair [1:09:44]:

Thank the distinguished representative from Morocco, and if you'll allow me to continue with this afternoon's meeting and with the aim of hearing from the petitioners, I will give the floor back to Ms. Thomas for 36 remaining seconds. If you do not limit yourself to the situation in the territory under consideration, I will.

Be forced then to give the floor to the next petitioner.


Petitioner [1:10:09]:

I just want to say that all of the facts that I've stated are true and you can fact check it for yourselves. Without such stipulations, Morocco's autonomy proposal is just a well-camouflaged attempt to preserve what is essentially the status quo, where Moroccan government continues to govern every important political decision in the territory, continues to deny the population free speech, and continues its stranglehold on the territory's economy. But Morocco cannot accede to these stipulations. It cannot afford to, less its own people demand the same freedoms.


4th Committee · Chair [1:10:45]:

I thank the petitioner. I now invite Mr. Abdul Latif Aitara to address the committee.


Petitioner [1:11:01]:

The host country of the Tindouf camps has built a whole mythology around Moroccan Sahara, which is today the last remaining colony in Africa due to the occupation by Morocco. This is a denial of reality and a strategic calculation. Western Sahara ceased to be a colony since the signing of the Madrid Accords when Spain gave Morocco a region that had been a part of its territory. Let us recall Resolution 3458B of the United Nations. On February 26, 1976, Spain confirmed to the UN its full withdrawal from Western Sahara. The host country of the Tindouf camps is the only country in the world to qualify the region of Moroccan Sahara as an occupied territory. The reports of the Secretary-General and the Security Council resolutions do not use that term. There is no occupation situation. Morocco has brought the issue of the Moroccan Sahara to the Decolonization Committee when the Polisario had not yet been born. The country hosting the Tindouf camps is also the only country on the African continent to disregard what has been decided in the African Union. However, despite this, Morocco's neighbor refuses to recognize that it is a party to the conflict.


4th Committee · Chair [1:13:01]:

I interrupt the speaker. I ask you, please, to limit your comments to the situation of the territory under consideration.

You may continue for one minute and two seconds.


Petitioner [1:13:20]:

The persistence of this artificial problem, its internationalization and transformation into a classic decolonization issue is due to the increasing involvement of Morocco's eastern neighbor instrumentalizing Polisario. International consensus of 123 countries of the world agree on the irreversible Moroccan identity of the Sahara and the international framework confirms this. Polisario has survived only through the criminalization of the policies of its host country on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara. This is preventing peaceful coexistence on the African continent. I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:14:19]:

I thank the petitioner and I now invite Mr. Ahmed Sahel to take the floor.


Petitioner [1:14:32]:

Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen, members of the esteemed committee, I am honored to address your committee as a petitioner in support of the Sahrawi people in their just struggle to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence. Decades have passed since the issue of Western Sahara was listed as a colonization issue. The Sahrawi people are still being deprived of their most fundamental rights, which are guaranteed in the United Nations Charter. The failure to implement United Nations resolutions, specifically the referendum on self-determination, has led to the continued suffering of the tens of thousands of refugees in refugee camps for almost half a century. The people in the occupied territory are facing grave violations of human rights, such as arbitrary detentions, tortures, and oppressing peaceful demonstrations. Mr. Chair. The Sahrawi youth are the most adversely affected group. They are suffering from unemployment, which touches 70% of the youth, due to a lack of job opportunities. They also suffer from a policy to obliterate their identity and suppress their protests. They demand their rights, and when they do so, they face violence and oppression. This policy that is based on deprivation threatens to have a whole generation lose all hope in peaceful solutions. The social and economic situation of the Sahrawi youth is dire and most of the basic needs are not available and there are very limited job opportunities due to the unavailable financial resources. For many years, the Sahrawi government has paid special attention to the youth in education, and many Sahrawi youth now have qualifications. Ladies and gentlemen, The Sahrawi people are not calling for more than exercising the same right that has been guaranteed by the United Nations.


4th Committee · Chair [1:17:31]:

I thank the petitioner.

And I now invite Mr. Nekaki Lequeros to address the committee.


Petitioner [1:17:44]:

Chair, Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara is indiscussible. It has become irreversible. Morocco has achieved its territorial integrity following the Madrid Accords, which marked the end of the Spanish presence in the Sahara. The General Assembly has taken note of this fact. Madrid knows better than anyone about this regional dispute and has decided that the Moroccan autonomy plan was the most serious and credible foundation. It is a commitment on the part of Madrid and a recognition of Morocco's sovereignty. In 2020, following the US's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara created a momentum leading to global consensus on the fact that Sahara is an integral part of Morocco and that the Moroccan autonomy plan should be the only political solution to this original dispute. On the ground, the population of the southern provinces is managing its own affairs and fully participating in the socioeconomic development of the Moroccan Sahara. Of 124 countries that fully support the Moroccan autonomy plan is the only political solution that is viable. There are three Security Council permanent members, as well as many members of the G77, 24 EU members. 70% of African states also openly support the Moroccan autonomy initiative. These numbers testify to Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara. This is an artificial conflict that is hampering the region and a continent that wishes to turn to peace and development. New development models are being implemented for the southern provinces with a budget of 10 billion euros. There are also three initiatives for the Atlantic coast to unlandlocked Sahel states. as well as a pipeline project. In addition to 30 Consulate Generals in Launadakhla, there are also consular services that have recently opened by France and Hungary, which seek to facilitate the granting of visas to those living in the southern provinces. The majority of UN member states recognize the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the only viable political path forward. Neither the territory or population or government of the territory are under question. Thank you, Chair.


4th Committee · Chair [1:20:33]:

I thank the petitioner, and I take this opportunity to remind the importance of ensuring that your statements are read at a reasonable pace so that interpreters can do the best possible work. I now invite Mr. Ismail Abouy-Bukanan to address the committee.


Petitioner [1:21:01]:

Thank you, Chair. Separatism in Africa, represented by Polisario, must be eradicated as soon as possible if Africa wants to prosper and speak with one voice on the international arena. Polisario is a grave threat to peace and security in Africa and the world. There will be no peace or security in Africa until Polisario is classified as a terrorist organization. is being fueled by oil dollars that would better be spent on the population itself. This eastern neighbor of Morocco is financially and militarily helping Polisario in violation of the UN Charter and Resolution 2625 of the UN General Assembly. Chair, we meet today to address the issue of the Sahara, which can only be solved through the Moroccan autonomy initiative. This is the only initiative that enjoys the clear support of over 124 countries in the world. They unequivocally recognize the Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara. But why can this issue not be closed? Who is blocking the solution to this issue? There are various socioeconomic projects and investment projects underway that are being blocked by Morocco's neighbor, this country which defines itself as an observer rather than a party to this artificial conflict, even though it has fabricated it entirely. How can it be an observer or an interested party when this issue is of importance to this neighbor? The official site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs daily mentions this issue. How can this country?


4th Committee · Chair [1:23:23]:

I please ask you to limit your comments to the territory and the situation that we are considering this afternoon and not to touch on any other situation on member state. Thank.

You.


Petitioner [1:23:38]:

How can this country affirm that it is not a part to this issue when it is violating all principles of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states? has decided to open a consulate in a third country, it is all the more surprising that the neighbor of Morocco is currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council, it is time for the speaker.


4th Committee · Chair [1:24:19]:

I thank the petitioner and I now invite Ms. Grace Njipau to take the floor.


Petitioner [1:24:29]:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today, the Moroccan Sahara is a land in full transformation, a region where hope is stronger than despair and where the facts on the ground speak clearly stability progress and opportunity. The development model launched by Morocco for its southern provinces is not a decent promise. It is a lived reality. With a budget of $10 billion, projects already completed at more than 90% have reshaped daily life. Modern infrastructure now connects people and markets, investors, and cultural centers empower young people, and renewable energy facilities open the path to sustainable growth. Behind the numbers are human stories, graduates finding their first jobs, families accessing healthcare, and communities living in dignity and pride. This positive dynamic has been noted and recognized by the international community. Over 30 2 sovereign states, including 24 African countries from every sub-region of the continent, have established consular representation in Lyon and Dakar, the latter of whom are France and Hungary that have chosen to open their consular services there to better their to save their citizens, and many more are preparing to follow the path. These are not gestures of kites. They are sovereign decisions made on three real and solid reasons, because Morocco's deep African roots that cannot be untied. And let us be clear, these councils are not just offices. They are a strong acknowledgment of the Moroccan identity of the Sahara. They recognize Morocco for what it is. Women among those who suffer the most amount of testimonies have denounced rapes, assaults at the hands of the so-called Polisario. How can we remain silent around their sufferings? Children are recruited as soldiers in violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and international law. They are taught to camp schools to cultivate hatred towards Morocco. Schools and hospitals are built on another side of Sahara. On the other side, open-air prisons maintained, where futures are stolen. As African woman, I cannot separate this issue from the broader destiny of our continent. Every day this conflict drags on, it delays African unity and integration.

Doilas, gracias.


4th Committee · Chair [1:27:31]:

I thank the petitioner, and I now invite Mr. Ramiro Chavez Gochicoa to take the floor.


Mexico [1:27:45]:

I am grateful for this opportunity to address you on behalf of the Cultural Foundation from Mexico, on behalf of.

My city, which has a particular meaning for me. In April, I participated in a diplomatic meeting on the history of colonialism. It was full of avenues, full of optimism and diverse industry. This city is called Dakhla. It's become a true landmark due to the efforts of the Kingdom of Morocco. Time has always been a complicated measure, a subjective spectrum that gives space for ambiguity. Time, indeed, is so relative that you can just take five minutes to dream about an entire life. Now, it has been 50 years, half a century, for the implementation of the Madrid agreement, through which Morocco has transformed a sector of the desert into a pole for development and hope. Fifty years of socioeconomic progress that has converted the Moroccan Sahara into a crucial port for investment. Fifty years in which, regrettably, this coincides with the anniversary of a status quo imposed by a nation that is continuing this situation. Fifty years of contrast. On the one side, a Moroccan Sahara, which is a true centre of maternity, which has become synonymous with international cooperation. sustainable development and long-term vision. On the other hand, we have a Frente Polisario. The only thing it provides is an ideological pole of dogma with desolate, wind-wenders landscapes. 50 years when which we've had two paths, in which inclusive regional unity that would transform the social and cultural fabric of the region in the benefit of the Sahel. This is the path of altruism that is presented by Morocco, and the other is that of stubbornness that rather than developing a united Maghreb, focus on fallacy, threat, and isolation.

Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:30:13]:

I would like to thank the petitioner, and I now invite Ms. Maria de los Angeles Ramos Guillen to take the floor.


Petitioner [1:30:30]:

Thank you.

Since 2007, the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara has been qualified by global leaders as the only serious, realistic, credible proposal. It has also been endorsed by the Security Council, and in 18 years, it's been the only proposal for a political solution in the region. Thanks to this proposal, Morocco has implemented an international dynamic aimed at resolving this conflict that has already gone on for 50 years. 124 countries around the world have given their firm support to the plan, and they recognize the sovereignty of Morocco over this area. This is a political process undertaken by the presentation of the Moroccan autonomy plan to the UN. was the result of broad-based consultations carried out by Morocco, not only with neighboring countries, but also members of the Security Council, which praised it. At a national and local level, Morocco is also carrying out broad consultations involving political parties, the population, and local representatives, so as to provide their contributions to the Moroccan autonomy plan. This initiative is part of building a democratic, modern state on the rule of law as the best way to reach economic and social development in line with international law. In addition, it opens the way to a better future for the population in the region. It brings an end to separation and exile, and it promotes reconciliation. It's important to remember that various former leaders of the Polisario have joined Morocco to contribute to the momentum of socioeconomic development in the Moroccan Sahara. The autonomy plan represents a compromise that would allow the people of the Sahara to decide on their matters democratically with the necessary financial resources to ensure the socioeconomic development of the region. For two years, I have been visiting the region on several occasions, particularly the city of Dakhla where I met women from the area and who have political roles. I've also met the regional council leader for Dakhla talking about the dynamic in the area and the work that they're doing for the Sahari population in the area for a more prosperous future. On the ground, I've been able to see directly the structural projects in the region, including the Dakhla Atlantic Port project, which will give strategic economic benefits to the region and the entire African continent. In this visit, I was able to see the climate of peace and security that reigns over the area that only through the Moroccan of that is enabled by the implementation of the Moroccan autonomy plan.

Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:33:32]:

I thank the petitioner and I take this opportunity once again to remind the speakers of the importance of reading their statement at a reasonable pace so that the interpreters can do the best possible job and Member States can fully benefit from interpretation.

I'd now like to invite Mr. Sidi Taleboui Hassan to take the floor.


Petitioner [1:34:02]:

German. Ladies and gentlemen.

For more than 60 years, this committee has been demanding decolonization and independence for Western Sahara, a demand that, even though it has the support of the international law and the immense majority of members of the General Assembly, seems to fall on deaf ears in terms of how it is implemented. Hundreds of resolutions have been passed since then, and each of them call for the decolonization of the Sahari territory. territory through an impartial consultation in harmony with the rules of international law. But it's difficult to hold a referendum by following the basic principles of democracy where on the territory there is a military force, which is the Moroccan army, acting with impunity and sowing terror among the octogenous Sahari population. The administering powers, as you know, are obliged to report on the economic, social and educational conditions of territories for which they are responsible. In this case, in Western Sahara, the administering power remains Spain, which for more than 50 years has failed to comply with this obligation. Bear in mind that this information is vital so that this committee can assess with better understanding the situation of the territory and its people. Currently, it is us, civil society organisations, who are upholding this duty that really falls to States and the UN. It is us, as CSOs, who in as far as possible, and always with the added difficulty of the context of war and Moroccan occupation, try to report on and speak out about the atrocities affected by the Sahari population. We call your attention to the fact that it is impossible to freely access the Sahari territory. This is something that hampers our work in investigation and reporting on forced disappearances and other violations of human rights. that were addressed by Morocco.

And we also call your attention to the.

Systematic policy of harassment and the ban on entry that the Moroccan regime imposes on those who try to condemn their policy of apartheid.


4th Committee · Chair [1:36:21]:

I interrupt the speaker. I give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Morocco.


Morocco [1:36:26]:

Thank you very much. The name of my delegation is the Kingdom of Morocco. It's not the Moroccan regime because the only regime that is in the mind of the petitioner himself. I didn't want to interrupt earlier because also you mentioned the army. I don't understand. It's quite curious actually to hear someone criticizing a national army for being present and working in the stability of one of the Moroccan 12 territories of the Kingdom of Morocco while in silence about what's going on in the Tindouf camps, where there is the militarization of the camps and the uniforms are being even worn by children who are becoming armed soldiers. So I do not understand why this fixation on the army institution of the Kingdom of Morocco, which only ensures stability in the region. So again, Mr. Chair, through you, I kindly ask the petitioners to just refrain from mentioning institutions, otherwise they will be interrupted just because they are speaking out of the topic and out of order. I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:37:42]:

I thank the distinguished delegation of Morocco, and I give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Algeria.


Algeria [1:37:50]:

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair, once again. We It's very frustrating for everyone in this room to witness that the same rhetoric is repeated each time. That's why we kindly and respectfully ask you once again to request the delegation of Morocco to maintain the decorum and to limit itself just to make a point of order and not delve into substantive discussion and statements, as we've mentioned before, full of defamatory information. Thank you so much.


4th Committee · Chair [1:38:28]:

I thank the distinguished delegation of Algeria. I now give the floor to the Islamic Republic of Iran.


Iran (Islamic Republic of) [1:38:38]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for granting my delegation the floor.

While we had not intended to intervene under a point of order during today's meeting, we feel.

Obliged to do so in light of repeated instances where this procedural tool has been used to challenge the substance of petitioners' statements. As understood, the point of order is strictly meant to address procedural.

Matters or deviations from the agenda, not to contest the content or credibility of interventions.

In the interest of preserving the integrity of our.

Proceedings, my delegation respectfully requests your guidance to ensure that the point of order is exercised solely in accordance with its procedural purposes.

Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:39:26]:

I thank the distinguished delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and I once again give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Morocco.


Morocco [1:39:36]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Two points regarding the frustration. My delegation is also frustrated on the fact that many of the petitioners are using this very beautiful and noble opportunity to petition about their opinion, you know, to share their opinion and to misuse this opportunity for propaganda and political agendas. So this is the frustration is shared. So the solution to that frustration is to limit the petition to the discussion of the situation under the matter. This is first of all. And second of all, just I would like to remind the distinguished speaker who spoke before me that the point of order is a legitimate procedural instrument recognized by the rules of the procedures of the General Assembly, and we're not misusing them. I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:40:30]:

I thank the distinguished delegation of Morocco, and I would like to ask all Member States for your greatest possible collaboration so that this afternoon we are able to maintain cordial relations and, above all, a spirit that encourages the work of this particular committee of the General Assembly. I also please ask you to have some trust in the way that I conduct this meeting so as to be able to ensure the success of our work. I now invite the petitioner to conclude his statement. He has 39 seconds left.


Petitioner [1:41:36]:

Yes, thank you very much. Well, with the time I have left, I think I will go straight to the topic. And so that this is the very example of the intransigence in front of the freedom of expression. This is what we're seeing.


4th Committee · Chair [1:41:53]:

I interrupt.

I interrupt the petitioner on a point of order from the delegation of Morocco.


Morocco [1:42:06]:

I think you're very much in the chair.

Delegation Morocco has the floor. We're talking about the respect and we're talking about the frustration and we would like to abide by the rules. by the control of the situation, by how you're leading this meeting. So we don't accept that a petitioner qualifies the interventions of a member state with whatever qualifiers he used. This is unacceptable. So we'd like to kindly ask the petitioner to keep their personal opinions for themselves and just to concentrate on the matter being discussed now. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:42:53]:

I thank the distinguished delegation of Morocco. And I am now forced to give the floor to the next speaker on my list, which is Mr. Rafael Jorge Esparza Machin.


Petitioner [1:43:14]:

This is a crucial time to have a lasting solution. The United Nations should focus on a resolution that recognizes its initial error in decolonization when it reincorporated and accepted the Moroccan autonomy plan as the only possible solution.

The international community should understand how it was tricked from the beginning. Three examples, the refugee camps were created at the end of 1975. there was a mass abandonment of the Sahari people at the end of the 1970s and their territory was almost emptied and was then filled by Moroccan settlers now we know that the camps were already prepared by 1973 they were occupied by Algerians and some Saharis who left their territory at the beginning of the 70s after the after the murder of Bessiri we also know that at least 20,000 people who came from the Sahara reached the camps around the mid 70s. Many of them were forced, including following the attacks on the Polisario in some cities on the south of Morocco. It's also known today that the majority of the Sahari population continues to live on the territory given by Spain. Since then, this autochthonous population has since 1975 left the camps and since 1978 after the Polisario repression. This is an exodus that continues. The majority of those who returned were Spanish speakers who were persecuted from the beginning In addition, many members of the Polisario come from the south of Morocco and Mauritania, and they either went to Morocco or back to Mauritania. It's also known that some of the Moroccan settlers belong to that nation that in 1958, they were expelled from their territory, and another part of them were part of the tribes that historically belong to the Moroccan Saharan region. Currently, we can say that in the camps there are around 58,000 people, fewer than 15,000 of the people were on the Spanish census. denial to organize a census in the camps confirms these words. It now falls to the United Nations to give a response that is in line with the new reality, which would coordinate a solution based on the autonomy within the Kingdom of Morocco and that all Saharais should be represented in these future talks, representatives of tribes, Sahrawis and elected officials.


4th Committee · Chair [1:46:15]:

I thank the petitioner. I now invite Ms. Catarina Tavares to take the floor.


UGT [1:46:27]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for giving me the floor to express the solidarity of the Portuguese General Workers Union, UGT, towards the Sahrawi people. Trade unionists are known for their solidarity. Therefore, UGT Portugal could not remain silent. For decades, we are following the tragedy of the Sahrawi people, forced to exile, forced to leave or to accept the acculturation process imposed by the Kingdom of Morocco. Despite the globalization process, borders keep their symbolical and practical significance. The case of Western Sahara is paradigmatic. The borders give the people a very clear notion of where they began and where they end. The territory gives the people a sense of belonging based on their history, on their traditions, and their way of life. The Sahrawis are forbidden of speaking their language, the Hassania. The Djemma, traditional tent of nomadic, is also forbidden. Young generations are taught the history of Morocco, but not their own. Those who want to work formally or informally have to adopt the Moroccan nationality. The same goes for artists. If they want to express themselves in the cultural sphere, they must assume the Moroccan nationality. From a trade unionist point of view, the discrimination of the Sahrawi people in the labor market is not admissible. The authorities are encouraging Moroccan settlers by granting them houses and jobs, among other privileges, with the aim of gradually changing the socio-demographic distinctive character of the territory. This is not acceptable as well. In fact, the Kingdom of Morocco is weaving a clear colonial pattern against the Sahrawi people, with very much aware of economic exploitation, as well as linguistic and cultural differences. Mr. Chair, the Sahrawi situation is one of the most underreported humanitarian and political crisis. A durable solution requires a renewed commitment to international law, to human rights, and the fulfilment of the long-promised referendum of self-determination. Thank you for your attention.


4th Committee · Chair [1:49:22]:

I thank the petitioner, and I now invite Mr. Najib Boutdim to take the floor.


Petitioner [1:49:32]:

Ladies and gentlemen, delegates, Allow me today to address through these statements a handful of military leaders who maintain their grip on a neighboring country. We once believed this nation before its independence to be a sister nation. We had counted on it to be a pillar of support for us, just as we were for it during its war of liberation. That war, however, would not have been won without the support and solidarity provided by Morocco, its king, government, and people. To these same fascists, I say, for 50 years, since your independence, you have shamelessly chosen to base your doctrine on hostility toward Morocco. You have made us your classical enemy, as your current ruler publicly described. Your policy has been built on frightening your people into submission and surrender to the whims of gang of butchers, under the pretext that your classical enemy is lying in wait. Meanwhile, the very nation you deem as your enemy continues to extend a hand of dialogue and reconciliation. Every time Morocco calls on you to move past the burdens of the past and open a new chapter based on brotherhood and cooperation.


4th Committee · Chair [1:50:52]:

I interrupt the speaker, and I kindly ask him to ensure that his statement remain on the matters relating to the territory under consideration. Shouldn't focus on any other member state, any other situation, any other territory. And if you were to.

Continue in that fashion, I would have to give the floor to the next speaker on my list. You have one minute, 41 seconds left.


Petitioner [1:51:26]:

Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for that remark. For 50 years, to these same people, I would say, you have not limited yourself to covert scheming against Morocco. You openly attack its system, its people, and its territorial integrity by hiding behind Polisario mercenaries and by inciting some morally bankrupt individuals against our country in exchange for outrageous, outrageous sums of your people's money. Morocco has never attacked you for 50 years. You have persisted in pursuing the same spiteful policy against your neighbors, achieving nothing but disappointment and decline. Your government's agenda has only one item: perpetuating plots and maneuvers against Morocco's territorial integrity, resulting in failure. For 50 years, you have spent more than $500 billion trying to detach the Sahara from Morocco, yet you have failed miserably. Just imagine if you had invested that enormous budget in developing your cities and villages and more-- May.


4th Committee · Chair [1:52:34]:

I interrupt the speaker? Due to the fact that it is not specifically focusing on the situation in the territory under consideration this afternoon so I'm forced to get the floor to the next speaker on our list who is Mr. Jerome besnar


France · Elected representative [1:52:56]:

thank you chair.

I come here as a jurist and elected representative in France. We're at a crucial turning point of addressing various disputes around the Moroccan Sahara, where I traveled in April. This is crucial because this artificial conflict created by a neighboring country is nearing its 50th anniversary. Populations remain imprisoned against their will, sequestered in unsupportable conditions in the Tindouf camp located in Algerian territory. This is a turning point because the facts are clear. No one can contradict them. The UN supports the Moroccan autonomy plan as the only political solution to this regional dispute. It is time for the international community to act more firmly against the main party that opposes the settlement of this artificial conflict, a party that refuses to come to the table of negotiations, claiming not to be involved. This party has chosen conference station, violating international principles of friendly relations between states and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states. including affairs regarding the Moroccan Sahara. My country, France, made the choice last year to recognize Morocco's full sovereignty over its Sahara, a choice based on the legitimate historic claims of Morocco over this region, which has always constantly been an integral part of the Sharifian kingdom throughout the centuries. Following that recognition by France, that party decided to withdraw its ambassador to Paris for consultations. This is a method that is similar to blackmail and is often used to prevent Morocco from realizing its autonomy plan. However, the international community is no longer in the times of the Cold War. The times have changed. Other ambitions are at play, partnerships and building a common regional future, not through division or destruction. What can one expect from a party that does not submit to the rules of international law or the Security Council resolutions? Yet these decisions have true binding force. They must be respected and above all implemented. This party's actions are a violation of numerous international norms governing the situation of Moroccan Sahara. There is the The country is violating its moral and legal obligations by giving a proxy organization, Polisario, power, even as it associates with terrorist organizations in the region. Polisario is, in fact, sanctioned by the UN.


4th Committee · Chair [1:55:54]:

I thank the petitioner.

I'd like to take this opportunity to remind all speakers to please read their statements at a reasonable pace so that interpreters can do the best possible job and consequently us as Member States are able to benefit from interpretation. I'd also like to remind all speakers of the need to maintain decorum in giving their statements And I would like to kindly ask them to refrain from discussing territories or situations that are not under the committee's consideration this afternoon. I am very grateful for your cooperation here so that we can progress through our work this afternoon. And with that, I'd now like to give the floor to Mr. Andrew Rosemarin. You have the floor.

Microphone for the petitioner, please.


United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland · International lawyer [1:57:17]:

Solving the Saharan dispute with Morocco's autonomy plan. I speak as an international lawyer and Oxford trained solver of disputes. My name is Andrew Rosemarin. My aim is to help solve this dispute. Winston Churchill, the UN's pragmatic co-founder, and and a great lover of Morocco, joins us today in celebrating the UN's 80th year. A Nobel statesman and realist, he would recognize today that history is moving Morocco's way, irreversibly. He might add, our beloved United Nations can always be trusted to do the right thing after all other possibilities have been exhausted. Today, I explain why the right thing is to embrace, all of us, Morocco's autonomy plan. The United States, Britain, this very year, and France all support Morocco's plan, giving it majority support among permanent members of Churchill's Security Council. Many more states support it too. History is moving Morocco's way. Our wise utilitarian philosophers, Bentham and Mill, teach us this. Good government aims for the greatest happiness of the greatest number. So what is most likely to bring happiness to the Sahrawis? As an international lawyer, as a British barrister, my work, like yours, is finding practical solutions after weighing up complex evidence. Morocco's plan is the best practical solution for it's fair, flexible and far-sighted because it provides for the self-determination of the Sahrawis democratically. Can Morocco be trusted to keep its autonomy promises? Most definitely yes. because to the benefit of all including Sahrawis, one, Morocco holds fair elections, two, Morocco's economy is booming in the Sahara, three, Morocco is trusted with co-hosting football's World Cup, four, Morocco is a world leader in green energy including in the Sahara, five, Morocco is coping well even with its recent devastating earthquake. Together all this proves Morocco can be trusted to ensure the Sahrawi's best interests through Morocco's plan. In summary, Morocco's autonomy plan is the best practical way of ensuring the greatest happiness of the greatest number. Churchill would support it, so should we.


4th Committee · Chair [2:00:19]:

I thank the petitioner and I now give the floor to Mr. Christophe Buta, you can have the floor.


Petitioner [2:00:33]:

Chair, on the issue of the Sahara, the majority of the international community seems to be in agreement on two essential points today. The first is that the settlement of the dispute must be done in the context of full sovereignty of Morocco. Second, the Moroccan autonomy initiative is the only political solution to this crisis that has lasted for more than 50 years. simple concept and yet the instigator of this artificial conflict continues to deny it. It disrespects the sovereign decisions of sovereign states which seek the immediate implementation of the autonomy initiatives. It also violates the decisions by the Security Council regarding the parameters of this situation. Yet 50 years on, we are facing a situation that requires a pragmatic and not a bureaucratic solution within the UN. There are three elements to this. First of all, 70% of member states and a number of three, in fact, members of the Security Council recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara and support the Moroccan autonomy initiative. The goal is to assure that the population can manage its affairs independently, and that is already the case in Laayoune and Dakhla. There also needs to be a tailor-made socio-economic development plan, which is in place with a budget of $10 billion. The Moroccan Sahara is now a land of investment and tourism. Finally, Morocco's initiatives provide a innovative vision for Africa. Together with neighboring coastal states, there is a plan to develop the coast and unlock the landlocked countries of the region. This also includes major projects such as the Morocco-Nigeria pipeline. These three points show that Morocco has no intention of having this situation last for another 50 years. Instead, it is doing everything to solve this once and for all. Those who continue to seek to block this process must question themselves about the economic losses that are being caused to the Maghreb Arab region by this division. In his most recent statement, Mohammed VI once again held out a hand to neighboring peoples. A consensual solution would allow everyone to resolve the issue with dignity. I will conclude by calling to those who remain fixated on a vision that has nothing to do with the reality on the ground to rather choose dialogue. When you refuse to recognize reality, it is not reality that disappears, but your power.

Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [2:03:28]:

I thank the petitioner, and I now give the floor to Ms. Jaliana Sidi. You have the floor, madam.


Petitioner [2:03:39]:

In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate. Ladies and gentlemen, Chair, Excellencies, the members of the Fourth Committee, I have the pleasure of addressing you on behalf of a group and institution located in Brussels. On the topic of this territory that continues to be colonized and has been deprived of its legitimate right to self-determination and independence, the suffering of this people, the separation of families, and the looting of its natural resources, the Sahrawi people in the occupied part of this area are subject to Moroccan occupation. This includes forced displacement, kidnappings, and murder, in addition to other crimes that continue to be perpetrated. Systematic Policies like this have been carried out in various areas under Moroccan occupation, in addition to persecution of activists who have spoken up to defend their legitimate rights. The Sahrawi people are all affected. Neighboring states are also affected. They are being targeted by Moroccan drones. People die daily in this occupied area. Accountability from Morocco must be required, must be demanded for the violations of human rights that continue to be carried out in the occupied territories. It is inconceivable that the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights are not respected. That court has ruled that any activity in this region must take place with the consensus of the people, otherwise it is illegitimate. The Security Council's resolutions on the Sahara must also be implemented to ensure that the Sahrawi people can exercise their right to independence and self-determination in line with the Charter and international law. As chair of a human rights committee in Brussels, I call on you to cooperate to continue this process of decolonization and allow the people of the Sahara to exercise their rights. 50 years have passed since the start of the conflict. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [2:06:43]:

I thank the petitioner. And I now invite Mr. Mansour Al-Khatat to take the floor.


CODASA · Petitioner [2:07:00]:

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I have the pleasure of speaking today. My name is Mansour El Khattat. I work for CODASA and I am a Sahrawi. I have come here today to talk to you about the suffering of the Sahrawis under Moroccan occupation for more than 50 years. Ladies and gentlemen, those who claim that Morocco is investing in Western Sahara are lying. Morocco is exploiting that wealth. That region has been excluded. It experiences poverty. All Sahrawis are affected, particularly those who have skills. Our youth has been deprived of their resources. They have been deprived of employment opportunities. Drugs are being used to change the demographic composition of the area and the resources and wealth of the region, such as fish, phosphates, and others are looted systematically with Without the consent of the Sahrawi people represented by the Polisario Front, Sahrawis are enabled to enjoy their own resources. This is a flagrant violation of international law. We welcome the decision of the European Court of Human Rights, which confirmed that the exploitation of resources in the Sahara is not being done in a lawful and constitutional manner. Those who defend human rights in Sahara and journalists are being subjected to torture and other violations of human rights, such as the Gnissi group. Investigations need to be carried out. into Labib Agreshi, who was kidnapped, and Ibrahim Abutin and Saladin Asabat's investigations into carried out into their cases. The Moroccan regime is preventing international observers and organizations from accessing Western Sahara. It has been doing so for years. It is covering up crimes and violations. What is happening in Western Sahara is a matter of decolonization, as confirmed by the court. In 1975, there is no Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. International law must be respected, and the right to self-determination must be respected. MINURSO's mandate needs to be reaffirmed.


4th Committee · Chair [2:10:02]:

I thank the petitioner and would like to recall once again to all speakers the need to respect the decorum of this meeting when they address committee members. I now give the floor to Mr. Mohamed Baha. You have the floor, sir.


Petitioner [2:10:33]:

Ladies and gentlemen, may God's Blessings be upon you. I have the honor to address you. I am a young Sahrawi, and we have been under Moroccan occupation for over five decades. The Sahrawi people continue to suffer from the consequences of this, which prevents us from exercising our right to self-determination. Ladies and gentlemen, unlike the fate of other former African colonies, the decolonization process in Western Sahara was halted in 1975 due to Morocco's occupation, an illegal occupation that continues to this day. The Security Council and the General Assembly in their resolutions 3437 and 3519, among other resolutions, have confirmed the fact of Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara. Ladies and gentlemen, I speak to you of martyrs, detainees, the missing. Moroccan occupation authorities are targeting human rights defenders, journalists, and students. They have imposed a siege on our region. Ladies and gentlemen, Sahrawi youth have been subjected to violations, particularly at Moroccan universities. I would like to go into more detail on this issue as I am myself a Sahrawi student who has personally suffered from the Moroccan policy of reprisals against ambitious youth. We have seen freedom of expression violated in universities. Ladies and gentlemen, Sahraoui youth have been deprived of access to higher education close to their homes. They are forced to travel over 600 kilometers to attend universities, contrary to the Moroccan authorities' claims. Today, I recall the assassination of student Abderrahim Boudry, who was assassinated at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities in 2018 with impunity.


4th Committee · Chair [2:13:14]:

Give the floor to Morocco.


Morocco [2:13:15]:

We're not here dealing with anything judicial or going through the decisions of the court. The information that the, I should say, the misinformation and the fake news that the petitioner is saying now, I mean, it is being discussed and is going through a process, legal process, judicial process that is very well known. And we do not interfere with the legal procedures in Morocco. It's very weird him coming from the Kingdom of Morocco and studying in the universities of Morocco is saying that he should know that the first thing that we learn in the faculty of legal affairs is that the legal affairs in the Kingdom of Morocco are very very independent and each case from those cases, which are just like any other cases around the world, are being dealt with in a legal affairs, you know, and we do not interfere in the judicial matters. So this is not a platform to go into personal cases or personal defense of personal things. We are here just, you know, a petitioner about situations in general. And the details could be discussed maybe by going back to Morocco and also following, just like we ourselves are following the matters. and like the international observers can also follow the matters freely and independently. So we're not here to discuss personal matters. I kindly ask you, through you, Mr. Chair, to request that the petitioners restrict themselves to the petition, and they're free to speak about whatever propaganda they want to say about the Moroccan Sahara, however, not to dwell into propaganda exercise. I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [2:15:24]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Morocco. Before giving the floor back to the petitioner, I ask that they respect the procedures of the Commission and that they limit themselves to taking to the territory under consideration today.


Petitioner [2:15:54]:

Chair, ladies and gentlemen, when I was a student, I saw a group of students sentenced to 10 years of prison, and they are still serving their sentence instead of continuing their education.


4th Committee · Chair [2:16:15]:

I thank the petitioner, and I now give the floor to Hubert Seillan. You have the floor, sir.


Speaker 128 [2:16:32]:

I will make three factual points today. First, the international context confirms the national unity of Morocco. Three permanent members of the Security Council recognize Morocco's sovereignty over its Sahara unambiguously. The United Kingdom, considers the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the most credible, viable, and pragmatic basis for a lasting resolution of the issue. And they have also committed themselves financially. The United States have reiterated their irreversible position on the full and complete recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara, as expressed by both the president and the secretary of states. These declarations were formalized through a presidential decree. As for France, its president has expressed the nation's desire to recognize the sovereignty of the Kingdom. And France has established a consulate general in Laayoune. 32 UN member states have also opened consular representations or general consulates in Laayoune and Dakhla. And finally, the two other permanent members of the Security Council, support the UN's efforts to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict. They are signatories to numerous cooperation agreements with Morocco, thus expressing objective solidarity de facto with Morocco's national cause. Chair, let us also make it clear that the conflict no longer has international support. The neighboring states cornered, isolated, its outdated, belligerent stance must acknowledge that the peaceful resolution of this dispute is irreversible and inevitable. The legal process underway, inspired by ideals of peace and development in Africa, Europe, and the world, cannot be halted nor reversed. Finally, We must also note the miserable conditions that have been imposed on the populations of camps, which have been deprived of freedom and cynically instrumentalized. Morocco, on the contrary, has proven that it is working on peace and social development in these two southern regions, and this image must be central to future decisions. In conclusion, Chair, I would say that this conflict is meaningless because it is absurd and I will demonstrate this through three points.


4th Committee · Chair [2:19:32]:

I thank the petitioner and I invite Mr. Carlos Ignacio Prates to take the floor.


ASAWARI [2:20:00]:

So.

I'm a lawyer and I represent the Association of Friendship and the Self-Determination for the Sahari people, a Sahari Brazil. We reiterate our firm support for the decolonization process, and we emphasize the importance of ensuring that.

All peoples of the world.

Exercise the inalienable right to self-determination enshrined as one of the central purposes of the Charter and established in resolutions 1514 and 1541 of December 1960, as well as in other relevant resolutions of the General Assembly. We express our deep gratitude for the remarkable results achieved by the Special Committee on Decolonization, the C-24, and its tireless work.

However, the fact that the territory.

Of Western Sahara remains under the condition of a non-self-governing territory demonstrates that the decolonization process is not yet complete and that the elimination of colonialism must remain one of the priorities of the United Nations. As such, we, Brazil, invite the administering power to cooperate and participate and take measures for the prompt decolonization of the territory of Western Sahara. We also urge the colonizing power to shoulder its responsibilities over the colonized territory in accordance with the obligations derived from the Charter and the UN resolutions. We highlight the continued constructive attitude of the SADR government and its willingness to achieve a peaceful and definitive solution to this anachronistic colonial situation on African soil. Therefore, we request that the UN Special Committee renew its efforts so that negotiations can resume so as to find a peaceful solution to the aforementioned controversy and dispute as soon as possible. The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, MINURSO, must be empowered to investigate human rights violations in the occupied territory that can travene international law. Finally, we reiterate our call on all member states of this organization to continue contributing positively so that Western Sahara can have.

A political status that is freely determined by its people.

Thank you very much.

May Sahara be free.


4th Committee · Chair [2:22:24]:

I thank the petitioner and I remind them of the importance of reading their statements at a reasonable pace so that the interpreters can do the best possible job I now invite Mr. Simon bolognesi to take the floor


Speaker 132 [2:22:50]:

Chair, I come before you as a representative of the Sahari, which brings together 30 Italian organizations to support the struggle of the Sahari people. We come before you to draw attention to the persistent violations of the right to self-determination of the Sahari people and the exploitation of natural resources of Western Sahara that is carried out without the consent of the legitimate people who own these resources, the right to self-determination enshrined, should have the right to dispose of their own resources. Any agreement that has an impact on.

The resources of the territory without the consent of that people, therefore, constitutes a serious breach of international.

Law and the obligation of not supporting illicit occupations. European jurisprudence has confirmed that Western Sahara is a territory distinct from the Kingdom of Morocco.

No commercial or fishing agreement with the Kingdom of Morocco can be applied in its territory without the consent of the Sahari people.

Subsequent decisions have reinforced this guidance, recognising the legitimate nature of the Frente Polisario to defend the interests of the Saharawi people in their judicial seat and ordering transparency with regard to the origin of products. Despite this, we continue to see illegitimate licences for phosphates, fishing resources and agricultural products. significantly hampers the ability of the Sahari people to carry out social, cultural and economic life in an autonomous manner. In light of this reality, we ask the United Nations to play an active role and to take politically binding steps.

These would include.

Instruments of international policy instruments to interrupt flows of wealth that fuel and consolidate an occupation that for all too long has continued in silence and.

Being overlooked by the international community.

It is time for this community to choose what side it is on. Is it on the?

Side of legality, justice and the dignity of peoples or complicity with those interests that benefit from an illegitimate occupation.

For these reasons we.

Urge you to promote an urgent debate and to take.

Concrete measures to protect the right to self-determination for the Sahari people and to intervene so that orders relating to.

Natural resources are effectively and immediately enforced, guaranteeing consent of the people who own them.

With great respect and determination on behalf of my organization, thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [2:25:42]:

I thank the petitioner, and I invite Mr. Mohamed Ali Alkukoo to take the floor.


United States of America [2:25:54]:

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. Thank you for giving me the opportunity of addressing your committee. My name is Mohamed Ali Mohamed Alkukoo, representing the Sahrawi Association in the United States of America. Mr. President, let me start by saying that I represent a good portion of the Sahrawi people, and we would like to say this message to you and to this United Nation. Please pack your things and get out of Western Sahara. Get out of the refugee camps. Move on. For the past 30 or 50 years, your presence in Western Sahara only benefits the state of Morocco. We would like you to leave and let us deal with Morocco. We could convince them or force them to leave Western Sahara. This is our duty. We have no trust on this United Nation to accomplish this. Why we got to this conclusion? I will give you two example. I will wish you to listen and let me finish my example. Number one, this United Nation in the past two weeks give the floor to a war criminal, a person convicted of war crime by the International Court of Justice. committing genocide, committing ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people, and you give them the floor. Number two, each time we came here, we invest our money, we invest our time to express ourselves freely. But the representative of the State of Morocco for the last couple, three years, they become oblige and they are opposing us.


4th Committee · Chair [2:27:30]:

I interrupt the speaker and I give the floor to the distinguished delegation of Morocco.


Morocco [2:27:36]:

Mr. Chair, I would like to, again, through your request to the petitioner to refrain from attacking my person, which joins between parentheses to the number of attacks I'm going through on Twitter, X, and other social media, including attacks to my personal family. So these kind of propagandas, I mean, are becoming more and more dangerous to the safety of the diplomats here. So, Mr. Chair, I didn't want to open this parenthesis. However, we are here very respectful. I didn't want to interrupt the speaker even by initially saying that they lost faith in the United Nations, while we are here in the United Nations and we respect the United Nations and we keep hope and keep faith. However, to attack the person representing a Member State, a sovereign Member State, is not acceptable. I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [2:28:42]:

I thank the distinguished representative of the delegation of Morocco. I ask the petitioner to limit his statement to the matters pertaining to the territory that we are considering. If the statement does not stick to the matters under consideration this afternoon, I will have to give the floor to the next petitioner. You have the floor for one minute, 24 seconds.


United States of America [2:29:18]:

Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, I don't need nobody to twist my words. My words are, I'm speaking from the content. We are here to express ourselves. Nobody has to tell us what to say or what not to say. The most propaganda we are witnessing since I don't know when, we're talking about the Moroccan Sahara. Are we here to discuss Moroccan Sahara? Or are we here to discuss the Western Sahara? If we wish this committee and this delegate to discuss the Moroccan Sahara, we can do that. You can talk about Tata, you can talk about all of that. But we're here for the matter of decolonization of Western Sahara, and that's the issue here. And that's what we're here for. That's why we ask the committee, that's why I ask the chair to really give the petitioner the right to speak and not using the one procedural things and to stop us each time we try to accomplish our work. For the state of Morocco, there is nobody who going to give you the right to Western Sahara. The Sahrawi people will continue their fight for free and Western Sahara.


4th Committee · Chair [2:30:42]:

I interrupt the speaker. I give the floor to the delegation of Morocco.


Morocco [2:30:49]:

One second.


4th Committee · Chair [2:30:59]:

The delegation of Morocco, you have the floor.


Morocco [2:31:03]:

I was just trying to be very, very, very precise in choosing my words so that not to give any bad impression. The last sentence that the petitioner just said is. In English, it translates into God's curse be upon, et cetera. So are we here in this situation of insults? I give it in your hands, Mr. Chair.


4th Committee · Chair [2:31:36]:

I thank the distinguished delegation of Morocco. I would like to ask all petitioners that when they address the committee, to do so with the due level of decorum and respect. that is warranted by the institution in which we find ourselves and warranted by the committee in which we are meeting and that member states that make up this committee also warrant. I now invite Mr. Sosime Alphonse Tamekanta to address the committee.


Cameroon · University student [2:32:28]:

Thank you, Chair. My name is Zaziva Alfonsta Meka. I'm a university student from Cameroon. Chair, after its independence, the host country of the Tindouf camps developed a destructive program to divide Africa. The AU at the time was also involved. Its hegemonic agenda seeks to prevent the territorial integrity of Morocco. even though that country achieved its independence thanks to Morocco, declared a Sahel-Sahrawi Republic on its territory. This is a bellicose act that constitutes interference in the internal affairs of Morocco. This has been rejected by a number of African countries who do not wish to see a separatist entity within the Africa hampering its partnerships with the world. Today, the overwhelming majority of African states are actively working to support the momentum launched in 2007 by the Moroccan autonomy initiative. The majority of African states have withdrawn their recognition of the so-called republic, joining international momentum to support Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara. A number of African ministers have launched a Tangier's appeal for the expulsion of this entity from the African Union because its presence within the African Union poses a threat to the credibility of the continent's institution. In 2018, the AU adopted a decision that endorsed the exclusiveness of the UN as the only international body to address the issue of the Moroccan Sahara. Pursuant to that decision, the African Union has committed to supporting the Secretary General's efforts to relaunch the political processes A number of African states have opened their consulates in Laayoune and Dakhla, recognizing Moroccan sovereignty. In addition, they recognize the investments made and economic prospects that have been opened. We have seen a diplomatic momentum of recognition. In conclusion, Chair, I.


4th Committee · Chair [2:35:31]:

I thank the petitioner and I invite Mr. Sharaf Asisov to take the floor.


Speaker 146 [2:35:44]:

Mr. Chair, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, it is an honor for me to address this committee on behalf of Justice for All International, a Geneva-based NGO. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the International Pro Bono Legal Services Association, based in Hong Kong, as well as Salvo and Liberation Scotland, NGOs based in Edinburgh, whose commitment to the principles of decolonization and international justice we deeply value. For over 60 years, Western Sahara has remained on the list of non-self-governing territories. Yet, its people continue to be denied their inalienable right to self-determination as proclaimed in General Assembly Resolution 1514 and reaffirmed annually in its territory-specific resolutions. In 1991, a Security Council resolution mandated a referendum on self-determination. 34 years later, this referendum has still not been held in Western Sahara. As the Secretary General's latest report confirms, the process remains blocked while the UN mission's mandated ability to monitor human rights is severely restricted. Inside the territory, repressions are severe. In Laayoune earlier this year, Moroccan security forces violently dispersed a peaceful Sahrawi demonstration. They stormed homes, cut electricity in order to silence families, and they placed leading activists under de facto house arrests. Women defenders were beaten in public, and phones were confiscated to erase evidence. These abuses highlighted in the March 2025 communication of UN special procedures are not isolated. They reflect a systematic policy to extinguish Sahrawi civil society. Meanwhile, over 170,000 Sahrawi refugees remain in Tindouf, now in their third generation of exile. At the same time, the territory's natural resources, phosphates, fisheries, and land are exploited without the consent of its people, contrary to the 2002 UN legal opinion. Mr. Chairman, autonomy within occupation framework is not decolonization. It is colonialism in another form. Only a genuine process of self-determination, freely chosen through a UN-supervised referendum, can bring this question to a just conclusion in line with the UN Charter. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [2:38:36]:

I thank the petitioner, and I invite Mr. Ali Amagous to take the floor.


CODESA [2:38:50]:

Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen, I talk to you today on behalf of CODESA to talk about more than 50 years of suffering and violations in the cities of the Western Sahara, which, even though half a century has passed, is still part of the non-governing self-territories and is the last colony in the African continent. continent. Since 1975, the Sahrawi people have been living under Moroccan occupation, which has imposed the reality of systemic oppression and the restriction of basic freedoms and the illegal use of natural resources. Hundreds of activists and human rights defenders, journalists, and university students have withstood arbitrary detention and torture and convicted in courts with lacking minimum requirements of fair trial in a blatant violation of ICCPR Articles 9 and 14 related to the freedom of fair trial. They have also been deprived of the right to freedom of opinion and peaceful association and others in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 21 of ICCP or the ICJ in its advisory opinion of 16 October 1975 declared that there are no sovereignty links between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Western Sahara territory and that the only just solution is enabling the Sahrawi people to exercise their right to self-determination in accordance with the 1514 resolution of the General Assembly on the 14th of December in 1960. Despite this legal decision, the Moroccan occupation continues to use military force, politician stifling, and social exclusion and economic exclusion. The Sahrawi cities are now closed to international monitors and legal experts, expression of opinion, and improvement of health services and benefiting of the resources is enough to be imprisoned and detained. What we are going through is not just political oppression, it is also a plundering of the national resources. Phosphate, fish stocks, renewable energy is all done by multinational companies in complicit with the occupation authorities without any approval of the Sahrawi people and the European Court of Justice in 2016, 2018, 2021, stated that the Western Sahara is a separate territory from Morocco and that any economic or trade agreements that include the territory without the approval of the Sahrawi people are null and void. Due to this reality, the Sahrawi people are living through marginalization that is systemic. The majority are deprived of job opportunities and local resources, while a minority linked to the occupation is benefiting from.

I.


4th Committee · Chair [2:41:59]:

Remind speakers to please read their statements at a reasonable pace so that interpreters can do the best possible job. And I invite Mr. Souleymane Satigi Sidibe to take the floor.


Speaker 150 [2:42:22]:

Thank you very much, Chair. I have the honor to take the floor on behalf of the African Network for Governance and Human Rights. Chair, members of the Commission, the Sahel region faces a number of challenges. These include links between separatist armed groups with terrorist organizations. This new nexus is possible only through the interference or connivance of certain states in the region who try to impose their own agenda in order to implement their hegemonic vision in the region. Mali is a vivid example of this. Morocco also faces the maneuvers of this host country of the Tindouf camps even though it forgets that it was thanks to Morocco and Mali that it obtained its independence. Separatism has been instrumentalized on Moroccan territory. It is sponsoring terrorism in Mali. This eastern neighbor of Morocco is undermining the national unity of African states. It is undermining regional cooperation and weakening the collective response to terrorism and transnational crime. Its incitement and machinations have led to the installation of a separatist agenda that seeks to erode the unity of the continent and its prosperity. It is time to put an end to this instability in the Moroccan Sahara, which threatens the entire African region. Mr. Chairman. There can be no peace or sustainable development as long as the country to the east of Morocco persists in harboring the separatist group Polisario on its territory, continues to finance it, weaponize it, and support their terrorist actions diplomatically. It continues to maintain close links with terrorist groups across the Sahel. There must be resolute action now. We already have a solution, a compromise solution, the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative, which has been broadly recognized by the international community. That solution allows the continent and the world to focus on genuine questions of development. What we are seeing is an anomaly. It must be redressed. It is time It is unthinkable that a separatist terrorist group remains a member of the African Union. This undermines its legitimacy and credibility. Today, Chair, distinguished members, I would like to simply say that Moroccan Sahara remains-- The speaker has been cut off.

Gracias.


4th Committee · Chair [2:45:20]:

I thank the petitioner, and I now invite Mr. Xavier Dupre to take the floor.


Petitioner [2:45:32]:

I would like to remind the Fourth Committee that the highest international judicial bodies, such as the International Court of Justice, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights, have clearly and unequivocally ruled on the status of Western Sahara. They have confirmed that Western Sahara remains a non-self-governing territory whose decolonization process has not been completed. They have also reaffirmed that the Sahrawi people maintain their inalienable right to self-determination and independence in accordance with the Charter of the UN and relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. They have reaffirmed that the natural resources of occupied Western Sahara belong entirely and exclusively to the Sahrawi people, and that no one may exploit them without the consent of the Sahrawi people and their recognized representative, the Polisario Front. We remind the Committee that Western Sahara has been listed since 1963 as a non-self-governing territory awaiting decolonization. We recall that the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice from October 16, 1975, confirmed the absence of any territorial sovereignty ties between Western Sahara and the Kingdom of Morocco. Despite the fundamental importance of these rulings and opinions, the Fourth Committee has so far never explicitly incorporated them in its resolutions. That is why we call on the Committee to officially recognize in its final resolution these legal rulings. We ask them to recall that these decisions complement the legal framework of the issue and reinforce the UN's obligation to complete the decolonization process of Western Sahara. We also suggest that the UN's primary responsibility be reaffirmed in implementing the Saharawi people's right to self-determination. The explicit inclusion of these legal references is ultimately essential to ensure the coherence, credibility, and the normative strength of the Fourth Committee's resolutions on Western Sahara. Thank you for your attention.


4th Committee · Chair [2:48:03]:

I thank the petitioner, and I invite Mr. Yuichi Iwasaki to take the floor.


Japan · Journalist and university lecturer [2:48:10]:

Thank you, Chair. I am a journalist and university lecturer in Japan, specializing in African sociopolitical issues, and also a member of the association, Friends of Western Sahara Japan. Since 1995, I have repeatedly visited Saharawis in the occupied zone, the liberated area, refugee camps, the Canary Islands, and Mauritania. Through my research, I could verify the facts of the military occupation, colonization, ethnic cleansing, exploitation of natural resources, and violation of international law by the settlers. Western Sahara issue can be understood through three main challenges. First, lack of fairness. Despite the presence of the MINURSO, development in Western Sahara proceeds without the consent of Sahrawis. and their resources are being plundered. Countries and companies benefiting from Western Sahara's resources turn a blind eye to the occupation, thereby legitimizing the status quo. Second, unilateral propaganda. For example, the claim that Polisario is a terrorist group. In reality, the Polisario Front is recognized by the UN as the representative of Sahrawis. Third, threats and repression obscure the problem. In the occupied zone, there is no freedom of expression. Arbitrary detention, torture, and other abuses are widespread. Media is prohibited from reporting, and over 300 foreign visitors have been expelled. In the liberated area, civilian vehicles have been destroyed by drone attacks. Even in Japan, factual reporting has been met with persistent harassment. Such intimidation occurs worldwide. Sahrawi have the right of self-determination. The future of Western Sahara must be decided by referendum of Sahrawi people, not of the settlers. The principle is pretty simple. entrenchment of military occupation has progressed too far. Three Sahrawi friends of mine have passed away while still waiting for the referendum. The international community must solve this issue with greater urgency. No international law legitimizes Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara. Thank you very much.


4th Committee · Chair [2:50:55]:

I thank the petitioner. We are reaching the end of our meeting this afternoon. And we will hear our last petitioner for the day. I invite Mr. Badara Aliou Haidara to take the floor.


Petitioner [2:51:18]:

Thank you, Chair. I am proud to follow my brother from Mali. Chair, the eastern neighbor is entirely responsible for the evolution and persistence of the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. This entity has created the Polisario, it harbors it, and provides it with military, financial, diplomatic, and logistical support. It is that state that has delegated authority over part of its territory and the Tindouf camp to Polisario in full violation of international humanitarian law. Chair, it is that entity that rejects the resolutions of the Security Council. It refuses to participate in the political process conducted under the exclusive auspices of the UN in order to find a solution to this dispute in contradiction to its responsibility to seek a solution, the host country of the Tindouf camps continues to claim it is a simple observer. If it was genuinely a mere observer, why would it have fought against Morocco historically? has it commented on all of the UN's proposals and proposed the partition of the Moroccan Sahara to the former envoy James Baker, as has been recorded in reports on the issue? Why does it continue to host on its territory in the Tindouf camps the Polisario Front? Why has it mobilized its institutions including imams and universities against the territorial integrity of the kingdom. Why is it the?


4th Committee · Chair [2:53:20]:

I interrupt the speaker to ask him to please limit his comments to the territory under consideration. You have the floor 50 56 seconds.


Petitioner [2:53:33]:

The response to these questions it's clear and unambiguous. It is because this country is the primary party to this dispute, which it has started to serve its geopolitical agenda in the north of Africa. Mr. Chairman, the double standards of this state are clear. Under the cover of neutrality, it is undermining Africa's stability, particularly in the Sahel, while undermining sincere, constructive initiatives by the Kingdom of Morocco. Morocco proposes a responsible, future-looking solution, one that is credible and realistic, as the international community has confirmed, and offers a lasting solution to an artificial dispute while guaranteeing regional.

Stability.


4th Committee · Chair [2:54:30]:

I thank the petitioner. We have exhausted the time available for this meeting. The committee will meet again tomorrow, Friday, 10 October, at 3 p.m. in this conference room to continue with the hearings of petitioners under the question of Western Sahara. In line with the decision taken at the beginning of our session today. We will resume our discussion on agenda items 54 to 58, decolonisation, tomorrow, immediately after the hearing of petitioners, provided that that does end tomorrow afternoon and we have sufficient time. I would kindly like to ask all petitioners who have not been able to take the floor today to come back tomorrow so that the committee can also hear their statements. In light of the large number of petitioners to be heard by the committee, those petitioners who were heard today are kindly requested to follow the rest of the hearings live via the United Nations webcast. This will help facilitate the efficient and smooth in-person participation of the remaining petitioners. meeting is adjourned.