Fourth Committee, 6th plenary meeting - General Assembly, 81st session
General Assembly
Date: 8 October 2026
Language: English
Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/en/ga/c4/81/6
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.

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4th Committee · Chair [0:02]:

Good afternoon. The first meeting of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee is called to order. Before proceeding further, in view of the number of the petitioners left to be heard, it is possible that we will conclude our hearings of petitioners already this afternoon before 6:00 p.m. With a view to maximize the utilization of our conference services, I would like to recall delegations of our decision taken yesterday to resume the general debate on the decolonization cluster agenda items from 52 to 56 today, immediately after the conclusion of the hearings of petitioners. Before we conclude the hearings of petitioners on the questions of Western Sahara, let me once again remind all speakers of the need for the quorum. I emphasize again 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. I request all petitioners to refrain from straying from the item and the territory under consideration and to respect the quorum. Otherwise, I will have to give the floor to the next petitioner. I also 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 their allotted time. The microphone will be automatically cut off once the allotted time has ended. All speakers are reminded also to speak at a reasonable speed and to submit their statements in advance to statements@un.org to support the interpreters. Furthermore, please be advised that only accredited media representative 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 full committee are being webcast. Now, we will continue to hear petitioners under the questions of Western Sahara. I invite the petitioner, Ahmed Brahim Hayat, to have the floor. You have the floor.


Morocco · Locally elected representative [2:39]:

It's a great honor to address you today and to share the experience of Asrout province, located in the far south of the Kingdom of Morocco. Today, Asrout stands at the heart of the economic, commercial and logistical flows linking Morocco with sub-Saharan Africa. The province is undergoing a profound transformation from a border territory into a strategic driver of development and vital line connecting Europe, Africa, and the Atlantic space. This transformation is reflected in major projects' conversion in the region. including the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline and the Royal Initiative to facilitate access for the Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean. These initiatives are reshaping transport and trade corridors across West Africa and reinforcing the strategic role of Morocco's southern provinces with an emerging continental architecture. Mr. President, as elected A representative of the local population will remain firmly committed to development infrastructure through the region, particularly in province. Our objective is both to respond to local development needs and to support the kingdom's major structural projects. At the center of the This dynamic is Gargaret's rule now extends for the buying that's of a conventional border crossing. It is increasingly becoming an integrated logistics platform facilitating the movement of people and goods between Morocco and Europe. On the one hand and the countries of West Africa on the other, our region opens towards Africa is also strongly reflected in the healthcare and education sectors. The Mohammed 6 University of and health in Dakhla includes the region versus faculty of medicine, faculty also of nursing science and health profession and school of engineer of health science. This investment is complemented by the Mohammed 6 International University Hospital Complex with a capacity of 300 beds and by the African Academy of Health Science in Dakhla. In this way, Dakhla Wad Dhab opens towards Africa is becoming truly integrated through logistics, infrastructure, connecting markets, university size development, human capital, specialized healthcare service and institution promoting cooperation and the change of African experience. Thank you, Mr. President, for your attention.


4th Committee · Chair [5:25]:

I thank the petitioner. And now we give the floor to the next petitioner, Takbir Abba. You have the floor.


Morocco · Locally elected official [5:33]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I now speak as a locally elected official in the province of Boujdour. And I would like to present to you what we live and what we see every day in the Sahrawi provinces of Morocco, where women are no longer simply benefiting from development, but are participating in achieving it in terms of economic activity and business activities and creating value. In our area, there are 1992 female cooperatives that includes over 6,400 women. And female cooperatives constitute 22% of the overall co-ops in these two territories, which is almost double the national rate. The same applies to the to the public works sector, where the public works that are led by women in the south represents 12.5% in Al-Ayun Al-Sakia Al-Hamra and 12.6% in Al-Dakhla Wadi Dhabh, compared to 10% of the national average. And this is what we're trying to achieve as female representatives of the local community, because women are no longer simply subject matter for social policies, but have now become an active an active element and own and and their own businesses and are productive as well main part of my my position as a local representative is to build partnerships that would offer opportunities to women is including with government bodies and state institutions and the private sector and I would like to note here the most the important part role that's played by public works companies such as the Sharif office for phosphates which is a model for the importance of economic investments that looks at the human being and makes it human-centered, where we have offered programs in the entrepreneurship to 30,000 beneficiaries, 64% of whom are women, which means that 19,000 women have taken advantage of this system. This is the Morocco that we, the Saharawi women, are proud of in the southern provinces. the Morocco is Morocco is investing in women as a as a person of value and a partner in decision making therefore we feel sorry and we we feel pity for our brothers and sisters in the Tandoof camps where generations of women are living in isolation in the middle of the Sahara under the violent grip of the Polisario where their current reality has become a constant cycle of abuse and instead of making them the priority, making the priority ending their suffering. Algeria is the first one that takes advantage of them for its own goals in the region. I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [8:18]:

I thank you, the petitioner. Now, I would like to remind our speakers to kindly deliver their statements at a reasonable speed to enable the interpreters to do the best job possible. And also, in the same vein, I would like to recall that only accredited media representative escorted by a representative of the Department of Global Communication will be permitted to film petitioner's statements. In this regard, I would also like to recall that the meetings of the Fourth Committee are being webcasted. Now, we continue to hear petitioner on the question of Western Sahara, and I invite the petitioner, Ricardo Bernardo Sanchez Serra. You have the floor.


Peru · Petitioner [9:02]:

Ben go the Machu Picchu.

I come from Machu Picchu Peru Mr. chair members of the fourth committee there are times in which this committee and the United Nations should decide whether they will be irrelevant mere witnesses of history or whether they will be protagonists in it today is one of those moments there are now three bills in the Congress of the United States that call for including the so-called Polisario on the list of foreign organizations. These are not random initiatives. They are the reflection of a growing concern over evidence linking that organization to terrorist networks and destabilizing actors operating in the Sahel and north of Africa. After more than five decades, the Polisario is no longer presented solely as a separatist movement. Increasingly, there are more and more people who see it as an instrument of radicalization, insecurity and regional destabilization. The Polisario does not represent peace, it does not represent dialogue, it does not represent the future. It represents division, confrontation and the artificial prolongation of a conflict which is preventing the development of an entire region. Mr. Chair, I have had the opportunity to visit the so-called Tindouf camps and I am talking about what I saw I saw anguish despair I saw human beings who had become hostages of a status quo which other would like others want to perpetuate I heard reports of abuse repression restrictions on liberty of freedom of expression and no human conscience could ignore this I also visited Tahla and the provinces in the south of Morocco I saw development I saw investment, I saw infrastructure, I saw confidence in the future, and I spoke with men and women who wanted reconciliation, the reunification of families, and a life of prosperity. After having been in both places, my personal impression is unequivocal. Dakhla, for me, represents a reality of hope and of development. Tindouf represents a human reality that we cannot allow to go on. It is hell rather than heaven. It is an open-air prison. For that reason, I find it strange that we are talking about the life of Sahrawis in Morocco without people being aware of what they are talking about. Ladies and gentlemen, members of the committee, it would be good for you to go and see it with your own eyes. Since the 1970s, you have not been to visit. Resolution 2797 of the Security Council, Mr. Chair, opens a historic opportunity to close this chapter of confrontation and move towards a realistic, lasting political solution that is offered by the Moroccan autonomy plan. Future generations will not remember how many statements were delivered. They will remember whether we were brave enough to act. Let us advance in the spirit of 2797. Let us not be just another committee, go down in history. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [12:04]:

The petitioner, and now I invite the next petitioner, Mualay Brahim Cherif, to take the floor. Please, you have the floor.


Morocco · Head of the Smara community [12:16]:

In the name of God, the gracious and merciful, Mr. President, Chair, I speak to you in my capacity as the head of the Smara community and as an engineer from the Moroccan public school system. I studied and specialized in one of the major schools of engineering in Morocco, and I've gained professional experience that I chose to put at the service of my country, especially my city, which is considered a clear example of the profound transformations that the southern provinces are experiencing. We are talking about a city that is far from the coast, but it was never once outside the development dynamic that the rest of the southern provinces and the kingdom know. And with the With the Royal Initiative to facilitate the access of the Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean, which is based on connectivity and infrastructure and economic cooperation and opening new horizons for countries that don't have a seaport, we see this step as an opportunity to make our inner cities part of the networks of transportation, exchange, and investment, as they are located on the major meeting point of the flow of people, goods, and wealth in West Africa. Mr. Chair, less than a year after the adoption of the Security Council Resolution 2790 We consider this step a victory for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco, and it is a victory for the right of us, the local population, our right to development and to manage our affairs through elected institutions. And here we would like to-- as the elected persons are awaiting the return of our brethren in Tindouf, especially the elected representatives of the south are viewing their return as a responsibility that we must prepare for, especially since the speech of His Majesty King Mohammed VI called on the residents of the camps to seize this historic opportunity and join us and to participate in the management of our local affairs to build a future that preserves the dignity of all. Because all Moroccans are equal, there is no difference between those returning from the Tindouf camps and their brethren inside the homeland. Mr. Chair, the true representation of the Sahrawis is not announced from abroad. It's not monopolized by a political slogan. It is built by the trust that citizens give through the ballot box, and it is their daily responsibility that we have to them. This makes us, the legitimate representatives of the inhabitants of the southern provinces, regret truly that some of our people in the Tindouf camps remain hostage to the political conditions of outdated external parties, and that others continue to reduce their future to a half a century old conflict, instead of opening the way for them to participate in development and a return to a dignified life on an equal basis with their families. I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [14:59]:

I thank the petitioner. Now I invite the next petitioner.

You have the floor.


Morocco · Petitioner [15:15]:

We insist, the presence of women in political Moroccan political life, and they are important to manage the affairs of women who in the past were simply a topic of positive empowerment, but now they are empowered and members of councils and partners in determining the priorities in decision-making and apply programs and in issues that affect the daily lives of citizens. Our election of Sahrawi women non-local lists has political implications and meanings because it shows that women's presence is not simply limited to legal procedures only that have been dedicated to enhancing their representation. Rather, several women run in joint lists along with men and participate in the same conditions in the election campaigns and are voted for by the voters in ballot boxes, and therefore The victory of women in these kinds of competitions show that voters give them a chance because they know that the female candidates are able to represent them and defend their collective interest and to manage their own affairs. And this reflects an advanced degree of political maturity in the southern provinces and an increase in the confidence attached to women as political protagonists that are fully qualified. Women elected to local councils after the 2021 elections has reached 31 percent, and their representation in group councils has also increased compared to lower numbers in 2019. This trend shows a clear direction towards expanding the base of female partnership participation in local politics. Women constitute an important part in local councils, which means that they are simply not limited to running as candidates, but are elected as representatives in such public bodies. This representation is not limited to the hallways of public buildings. Rather, women are present internationally as well, and they convey our developmental and electoral achievements in public venues. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the meaning that we add to the representation of the Moroccan Sahrawi women, women who voted and was elected, close to citizens and present in all fields, taking part in decision-making and adding legitimacy to the management of local policies and able to represent us. And this is not simply limited to a number of women who are sitting on seats, occupying seats. Rather, this is shown in their ability to transform the voice of women from a social demand to an institutional responsibility. Microphone has been cut off.


4th Committee · Chair [18:11]:

I thank the petitioner. Now I give the floor to next petitioner, Kachem Bahmani Rai. You have the floor.


Algeria · Petitioner [18:26]:

Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen, I have the honor to thank you and express our appreciation for you as the chair of this important committee, which has a historic and moral responsibility, which is to end the colonization. Algeria, out of its history of struggle and its liberation experience, and out of its deep belief in the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, renews its firm and principled position that supports the rights of peoples to self-determination. This is an established right in international law that cannot be subject to temporary considerations or political bargaining. We come here today to draw your attention to the fact that our African continent, if its map were to be corrected, will still not be rid of the last black dot of colonization that continues to be attached to a land that was stolen and a people who were oppressed, the brotherly Sahrawi people who have been deprived from exercising their natural and inalienable right to self-determination. This matter is repeatedly added to the Fourth Committee's agenda since 1968 and remains on our agenda with no effective or final solution. From this esteemed United Nations forum, we put forth to the international community absolutely clear facts that cannot be questioned and that can be summarized in considering The Western Sahara issue as an issue of ending-- an incompleted issue of ending colonization that does not have a statute of limitations. The passage of time does not come at the cost of rights, nor does it change the legal status. The only way out of conflict management to a conflict resolution is by committing to the United Nations path stemming from Resolution 1514 of the year 1960 to the year 89, 80 by the that was that was endorsed in December 2025 by the General Assembly, which stipulates the inalienable right of the poster of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence. No political path to resolve this issue must come or must go outside these parameters. Therefore, we have come here to say that the time has come to end colonization once and for all from the Western Sahara by respecting the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination freely and with no coercion. I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [21:24]:

I thank the petitioner. Now I give the floor to the next petitioner, Fatima Zahra Ben Zafi. You have the floor.


Petitioner [21:34]:

In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate, Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, members of the Fourth Committee. My address is entitled, "There is no way to rename the rules of the General Assembly." We stand before this august Council to ensure and reaffirm a clear position. The question of Western Sahara is neither a border dispute to be settled by the logic of fait accompli, nor a question of sovereignty that can be resolved through a political decision. Rather, it's a decolonization issue whose very essence lies in the right of an entire people to self-determination. Most importantly, in addressing this issue before the Fourth Committee is to reaffirm its legal and political nature as a question of decolonization rather than merely a regional dispute or a border issue between two states, Mr. Chair. The Security Council on the 31st of October 2025 adopted resolution 2797 by which it extended the mandate of the MINURSO until the end of the current month. More importantly, the resolution maintained self-determination as a fundamental reference point within the framework of the political solution. In this regard, it must be emphasized that self-determination cannot remain a mere principle or slogan cited in resolutions and documents only to be deprived of its substance when defining the course of negotiations. In the same context, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, stressed in his report of the 1st of October 2026 that the continued presence of the remains vital for preserving the stability and preventing any escalation in the region. More importantly, Mr. Chair, the UN Secretary-General emphasized in that report that any proposal put forward, particularly the so-called autonomy proposal, must ultimately be submitted to the Sahrawi people for their approval or rejection, as they alone are entitled to determine their future. Mr. Chair, we reject the resolution 2797. suggesting that the future of Western Sahara has already been predetermined, or that the will of the Sahrawi people can be substituted by a proposal advanced by one of the parties to the conflict. Likewise, the political process cannot bypass the party representing the Sahrawi people in this process, namely the Polisario Front. The Sahrawi people are the ones concerned with this region. They have a real genuine will to determine its future. Thank you, Mr. Chair.


4th Committee · Chair [24:32]:

Petitioner Mouloudi Habnassi, you have the floor.


Petitioner [24:40]:

Shukran.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. There is a question that the international community can no longer ignore. Well, who has the right to the resources of a territory whose decolonization process remains incomplete? That territory is Western Sahara, which has remained on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963 at the United Nations. yet its natural resources have become integrated into international investment projects, commercial ventures, and global supply chains, including companies that are themselves bound to respect international law. This is a glaring contradiction. The UN General Assembly, through Resolution 1803 of 1962, affirmed the principle of the permanent sovereignty of peoples over their natural wealth and resources. In resolution 79/95 of 2024, the General Assembly reiterated the need to respect the interests of the peoples of non-self-governing territories. and their rights over their natural resources. Thus, the principle is clear. However, the reality is different. According to specialized monitoring data, exports of phosphate rock from Western Sahara reached in 2025 approximately 2.2 million tons. In 2024, the Exports reached 1.45 million tons, in addition to other marine and natural resources. Ladies and gentlemen, consider the paradox: a territory whose final status remains unresolved, a people who have yet to exercise their right to self-determination, and yet the resources continue to flow into global markets. This is not only limited to phosphate alone. The judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered on the 4th of October, 2024, further underscored the significance of this matter. The court emphasized that Western Sahara is separate and distinct from Morocco in the legal context of the agreements concerned. They further noted that the extension of such agreements to the territory cannot take place without the consent of the people of Western Sahara, represented solely by the Polisario your front and there is also the responsibility of the states and companies involved in this unlawful exploitation of Sahrawi natural resources. Mr. Chair, we do not oppose development, we do not oppose investment, nor do we oppose renewable energy projects. However, we reject that such promising slogans would be just a cover-up to deplete the resources of a territory whose people have not yet determined their future. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and peace be upon you.


4th Committee · Chair [27:40]:

I thank the petitioner. Now I invite the next petitioner, Meryem Naili, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Researcher [27:52]:

Mr. President.

Mr. Chairman, delegates, I have been studying MINURSO for several years, and today I address this committee not as an expert of this mission, but given the double responsibility of the United Nations. The issue of Western Sahara is dealt in this organization in two different forms. Here, in this committee, it remains an issue of decolonization that is not completed, and the Security Council It is a non-resolved conflict. Two forms, two responsibilities, but the same principle within these two persists. The right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, and it is precisely for this reason that MINURSO remains essential. It was created with a clear goal, organizing a referendum allowing the Sahrawi people to exercise their rights. 35 years later, this referendum has still not taken place. And today, nevertheless, there is one party that wants to impose a solution and another that wants to choose it. But let's be clear, the time that passes does not mean that this right disappears. The failure of the mechanism cannot be a justification. A referendum is not simply a word in the name of a mission. It offers a promise. The future of Western Sahara cannot be decided without the Sahrawis. This committee has a particular responsibility. It has to continue to recall that as long as the Sahrawi people do not exercise their right to self-determination, the process of decolonization cannot be considered as completed. It must reaffirm the need to designate an administrative authority for this non-self-governing territory. And if this referendum has not been able to be recognized organized. The issue is how to render the right to self-determination effective, because self-determination, that right, cannot consist of issuing a decision and then allowing the people to accept it. It's important also to determine who will participate in the political process. The Polisario Front is a party to the process that has been conducted by the United Nations since its start. No decision on the final status can be organized by excluding one of the parties, as well as the people whose destiny is at stake. You cannot build a future without the people involved. That is why the Fourth Committee must reaffirm unambiguously that self-determination remains at the very heart of the process of decolonization of Western Sahara. It must recall that the search for a political solution cannot redefine this right or step over it or determine for those whose inalienable right we're talking about. No lasting resolution of the conflict can be built by weakening this right of self-determination. The future of the territory-- this microphone is switched off.


4th Committee · Chair [30:53]:

I thank you. I thank you, the petitioner. Now I invite the next petitioner, Marie Mercedes Cabezas, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Speaker 20 [31:05]:

Distinguished members of the Fourth Committee, I address you on behalf of the global trade union movement, on behalf of the rights of the Saharawi people, the right of peoples to sovereignty and self-determination. Western Sahara is unequivocal case of decolonization. The United Nations included it in its list of non-self-governing territories in 1963. It continues to be part of that agenda. The International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion of 1975 did not establish sovereignty links between the Western Sahara and the Kingdom of Morocco. This conclusion also has been reflected in various rulings of the European Court of Justice, the most recent one in 2024. The African Court of Human Rights, in its ruling 22, determined that Morocco is an occupying power. That is the heart of the matter. The West, the Sahari people are the only ones who have the right to decide on their future. An occupying state cannot decide for the future of its people. The logic of imposition would have grave consequences, including beyond Western Sahara. If foreign occupation can decide using force on the future of peoples and territories, we would not be seeing a culmination of decolonization, but a new form of neocolonialism. There is also an economic dimension that cannot be disregarded. The resources of Western Sahara cannot be separated from the issue of decolonization. The Sahrawi people must have the final word on their economic future. By the same token, human rights and trade union freedoms and civil rights must be an essential part of any future peace. Human rights defenders, journalists, activists must have their rights upheld. Today, we address the United Nations and their member states with clear demands. One, maintain the issue of Western Sahara within the decolonization agenda and not to reduce it to a border or a regional dispute. Second, the importance of ensuring the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people through not to legitimize occupation simply because it has persisted over time. Guarantee respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of expression, of meeting, expression, trade union membership, and other freedoms. Respect the rights of the Sahrawi people to their natural resources and not ignore the consent of their people, the Sahrawi people, as all peoples have the right to decide on their own future. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [33:59]:

I want to thank the petitioner and also the last petitioners for keeping the decorum of the Commission and the debate, and also the limited to territory and the consideration of this item. I thank you. And the next, I invite the next petitioner, Sidati Ben Massaoud, to take the floor.


Morocco · Elected representative [34:18]:

My name is Sidati bin Massaud. Mr. Chair, I wish through this statement to address an important issue concerning the legitimacy of representation of the Sahrawi people. For us, the Sahrawis, the southern provinces, representation derives its legitimacy and democratic meaning from electoral processes through which citizens express their preferences among competing candidates, affiliations, and programs, and determine who shall represent them within public institutions. Thus, the voice of the voter constitutes the foundation of political legitimacy. And the elected responsibility remains limited in time, subject to renewal or termination, and ultimately accountable to the citizen. This process gives rise to successive levels of representation, beginning with local councils and extending through the provincial and regional levels, culminating in representation within the national parliament, where the concerns and aspirations of the population are conveyed to the level of legislation and national policy making. Mr. Chair, before this Committee, a fundamental contrast emerges between us as elected representatives of the population of the of the Moroccan Sahara and those who claim a representative status that has not been granted to them by the Sahrawi people. We stand before you today with an electoral mandate, the right from the free choice of citizens in our provinces through a voting process in which more than 80% of the population participated as attested by international observers who monitored the recent elections in December. By contrast, the Polisario Front reverses this very logic of legitimacy by appointing members to its structures and subsequently convening what it describes as a Congress through which the same leadership is reproduced. Through this mechanism, the will of the inhabitants of the Tindouf camps is concealed behind a closed organizational structure. Decisions determined by a leadership that controls both the process and its conditions are presented as legitimate choices despite the absence of any genuine mandate. These top-down decisions are then channeled through structures controlled by the organization itself and projected internationally as a form of legitimacy that does not reflect the realities on the ground. The Polisario Front operates according to the model of traditional Marxist-Leninist organizations characterized by a centralized leadership structure that monopolizes decision-making and by restrictive mechanisms that impede the emergence of genuine political pluralism. The Polisario is not different from those who created it or financed it or supported it. Those behind them have never regarded the residents of the camp as free individuals endowed with rights, choices, and agency. Instead, they have continued to hold them hostage to a separatist test project that remains unattainable. The microphone was cut off.


4th Committee · Chair [37:26]:

I thank you, the petitioner, for the statement, and I use this opportunity to remind speakers to kindly deliver their statement in a reasonable speed to enable the interpreters to do the best job possible. And now I invite the next petitioner, Hubert Ceylan, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Petitioner [37:48]:

Mr. Chairman, everything seems to be very clear today. Adopted on the 31st of October 2025, Resolution 2797 indeed was a historic milestone that has been awaited for a long time. That resolution ends an approach that was in force for a long time. We know that today there is a before and after 31st of October 2025. Morocco in this situation is in a since 2007 has been a positive has had a positive approach it has been detailing its approach with civil society with political parties it is building a system of autonomy that is based on the rule of law and democratic principles and the participation of the population that that enjoys certain authority this resolution which legitimizes the Moroccan approach is important today. The permanent members of the Council, the US, France and UK, are expecting a concrete implementation of the resolution. The entities close to the current countries close to the separatist entity are distancing themselves. Others, such as Mali and Japan, no longer recognize it. And this movement is being expressed on the ground through concrete investment projects and the presence of the population, in particular the female population, in the economic, social, and cultural life of the region. That is the best That is the best proof of the Moroccan identity of that region. Now, through the expression of the will to self-determination, this process has continued. So for the past 19 years, the neighboring countries has rejected this approach and this offer of peace. It's dogmatic position that prevents prevents allowing for the international movement to gain force. It scorns the rights of the populations living in the camps. This is why I'll conclude by an appeal to its wisdom and sense of responsibility. At stake are human rights and peace. And in expressing this hope, I can only express the former leader of Polisario Front, who has been who has been held in prison without charges since January. And his family has been present here.


4th Committee · Chair [40:49]:

Petitioner, now I invite the next petitioner, Salek Rahali, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Spokesperson [40:58]:

Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen. members of the Fourth Committee. My name is Saleh Kerhali, and I serve as the spokesperson for the Sahrawis for Peace Movement. Today, I bring before you a Sahrawi voice that believes that dialogue and peace are the appropriate path for addressing the question of Western Sahara, and that the realistic and peaceful political solution remains the best means of bringing an end to the conflict that has endured for decades and affected generations of Sahrawis. We believe that the Sahrawi society is not represented by a single It is important for its various components and perspectives to be reflected in any future political consultations concerning the future of Western Sahara. Thus, we call upon the United Nations and the international community to listen to the voice of our organization and to include it among the voices and components of Western Sahara to reach a peaceful and realistic political solution. We do not claim to represent all the Sahrawis, nor do we present ourselves as an alternative to any other party. Rather, we maintain that Sahrawi representation reflect the diversity of views within the community and should not be reduced to a single voice. We seize this opportunity to express our appreciation for the diplomatic efforts undertaken by the United States of America and for the interest of US officials to listen to our movement and engage with it. We also value the efforts of the United Nations and its personal envoy in advancing a peaceful settlement of the conflict. The continued suffering Sahrawi refugees in the Tindouf camps, together with the protracted nature of this conflict, underscore the need for intensifying efforts towards a political solution that places human dignity, welfare, and prospects for the future at its core. The Sahrawis for Peace movement believes that the prolongation of this conflict affects not only the future of the Sahrawi people but also has broader implications for stability and security across the Maghreb region. It hinders opportunities for development, cooperation, and regional integration among the peoples of the region. Therefore, We believe that it's necessary to explore a realistic and peaceful political formula capable of bringing this conflict to an end, especially that it has went for over 50 years. Therefore, closing this chapter is necessary to open a new era of cooperation, stability, and development in the region. Our message today is clear. We want a greater space for all those who believe in dialogue, and we want them to contribute in searching for a solution. Our movement believes in dialogue, and we can be a serious partner in any future dialogue on the Sahrawi issue. We have the right to participate as Sahrawis in any future discussions.


4th Committee · Chair [44:00]:

I thank the petitioner. Now I invite the next petitioner, Limam Akmachi, to take the floor. You have the floor. Señoras y señores, miembros de la.


Chairman of the Commission of Cooperation [44:14]:

Ladies and gentlemen, members of the Fourth Committee, my name is Liman Quash. I appear before you as the chairman of the Commission of Cooperation of Sahari Movement for Peace. I'm here to convey the Sahari voice that believes that the search for a political solution and dialogue are the path to putting an end to conflict that has lasted for too long. During more than 50 years, tens of thousands of people are living as refugees in Tindouf refugee camp in difficult conditions and with a degree of certainty, and particularly bad for younger generations. For decades, many young Sahrawi people have grown up without any clear prospects for the future. They're young people. They want to study, work, build a family, and contribute to the development of their society. However, their aspirations are conditioned by the continuation of the conflict. This reality should not be ignored by the international community. When a generation grows for years without opportunities and without clear prospects, their vulnerability grows in the face of radical discourse by extremists that take advantage of this in the Sahel. This is why the search for a solution to the conflict is also an investment in peace, stability, and the future of our young people. Sahara, young people must be a part of the solution and not simply a victim of the consequences of the conflict. Precisely, our mission. movement during the second International Conference for Dialogue and Peace that took place in Dakar in 2023, incorporated active participation of young people as part to convey their vision and their proposals. This vision coincides with the recognition of the United Nations in the United Nations of the role of young people in the peace process and the need to ensure their participation in resolution of conflicts. This is why we like an appeal to the United Nations and the international community so that it contributes to expanding the opportunities for participation of the Saharawi young people. Our young people They must have an opportunity to take part in building their future based on education, jobs, participation, dignity and opportunities. The Sahrawi Movement for Peace is ready to contribute as a constructive partner to all credible and serious efforts aimed at a political and lasting solution to the problem of Western Sahara and move towards a new phase of opportunities, dialogue and cooperation in our region. We do not want our young people to inherit the conflict. We want -- they are our hope for the future. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to the Fourth Committee for offering me this opportunity.


4th Committee · Chair [47:03]:

I thank the petitioner. Now I invite Christopher Botin to take the floor. You have the floor.


Petitioner [47:11]:

Mr. Chairman, ladies and

gentlemen, Fourth Committee, the adoption of resolution 2797 was a turning point. We all agree on that by closing the door on the past and offering an opportunity to resolving the situation. The time of the status quo is over. It's now time to look at this file rigorously. It's important, we cannot refuse, refusing the status quo is to examine the role of each party, the role of the host country of Tindouf camp cannot be seen as mere spectator. The presence of the Tindouf camp cannot be disassociated from the responsibilities of this host country. To speak of human rights is impossible without mentioning the need to live in dignity. And the population of Tindouf has been living in decades completely dependent on humanitarian aid. Their registration is not completed, and practices similar to slavery have been documented. The host country cannot invoke international law by shirking responsibility. that are inherent in that how can you speak of self-determination without questioning with asking questions about the effect of freedom of those for whom it is claimed or simply registering recording the registering the population in question you cannot reduce everything to a slogan in the year 2000s there was a recall well the the there was no attempt to uphold the principle of self-determination Now, the initiative of autonomy under the auspices of Morocco is the only credible solution. It offers a democratic option to the people in question. Over 32 consular generals have been opened in the Moroccan-occupied area. Economic development has strengthened the integration of that region to the economies of the continent. The status quo has not offered anything, neither a legal solution or any kind of prospects for the future. It cannot be presented as any kind of response. Resolution 2797 imposes a realistic compromise, a compromise that requires a commitment of all parties involved, and in particular, the neighboring country to the west of Morocco, East of Mark, which is an essential partner and essential participant. Given the humanitarian disaster that continues in Tindouf, the choice is clear for the people in question to find a future of dignity, stability, a future. The neighboring country that hosts the camp of Tindouf must assume its responsibilities. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [50:11]:

I thank the petitioner. Now I invite Trinidad Vanegas to take the floor.

You have the floor.


Speaker 32 [50:22]:

Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, my name is Trinidad Banegas, and I'm speaking on behalf of the Colombian Foundation of Friendship with the Sahrawi people. The role of Sahrawi women in the economy of the camps has been essential when it comes to the survival and organization of their community. In a context marked by displacement, resource scarcity, and dependence on humanitarian assistance, they have proven a vast capability in organization, entrepreneurship, and adaptation, becoming protagonists not only in family and community life, but also in microeconomic activities that help improve their own quality of life. For many years, a lot of the food for the Sahrawi people has depended on food distributed by humanitarian organizations and that are supported in many parts of the world. Despite this international assistance, women have developed family kitchen gardens and agricultural projects using water-saving techniques, greenhouses, crops that are adapted to the desert and irrigation systems. These projects not only provide fresh foodstuffs, they can also generate a small income and increase the food autonomy of families. Currently, there are various needs that have been identified, given the reduction in the amount of humanitarian assistance reaching the camps, and those needs are a shortage of seeds, a shortage of appropriate seeds, the need for tools and agricultural inputs, a lack of training in new technologies, and the need to integrate new technologies to improve the quality of the soil and production processes. The land and natural conditions make it hard to plant crops more broadly to meet the daily needs of families. The request today to all Member States, to United Nations agencies, and to all leaders that are committed to supporting them is to continue to manage and increase the amount of assistance, which would include appropriate seeds, tools, and agricultural inputs, training in new techniques and technologies, the supply of technologies to improve productive processes, and making a contribution in this regard would help improve the food and nutrition conditions for the community in the camps, reduce cases of malnutrition, and increase the prevention of diseases among the population at every age.


4th Committee · Chair [53:19]:

I thank the petitioner. I invite the next petitioner, Cord Theo Baumer, to take the floor. Have the floor.


Petitioner [53:29]:

Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, and ladies and gentlemen, Western Sahara is a time capsule preserving colonial patterns of oppression, exploitation, and political self-interest. The situation also shows how the core of global economic order undermines fundamental principles of this distinguished institution when it's politically or economically profitable. Today, the race to financialize the renewable energy sector and achieve the energy transition arrived in Western Sahara. and is reinforcing its occupation. The occupied territory is increasingly being integrated into the whole value chain of renewable energy, and large-scale projects are getting developed in this very moment, due to immense foreign investments and the purpose of satisfying European markets. What happens when foreign direct investments of at least 32.5 billion US dollars and the future European energy security depends on the ongoing occupation? The scale of developments in the renewable energy sector in Western Sahara is significant, but the law is also clear. The United Nations guaranteed the right of self-determination to every human being. Furthermore, the law of occupation, including the 1907 Hague Regulations and the relevant provisions of the Geneva Conventions, impose significant limitations on the competences of occupying powers and other foreign actors regarding the administration, exploitation, and use of natural resources. Consequently, developments and activities related to the administration, exploitation, and use of natural resources without the consent of the people of Western Sahara raise serious concerns regarding compliance with international law and the principles upheld by this institution. It is therefore incumbent upon this distinguished committee to address such concerns in good faith and in accordance with the UN principles and mentioned legal instruments. Capital accumulation, political advantages, and one-sided security must no longer take precedence over international law and social as well as political equality. We therefore call for strengthened international monitoring of foreign direct investment, trade agreements, resource-related activities, major infrastructure projects, and international domestic corporations connected to the occupied territory of Western Sahara. Mr. Chair, the decolonization process in Western Sahara is a farce to everybody who believes in the fundamental principles of this institution. The often argued economic and social development in the occupied territory is based on oppression and displacement. What we are now witnessing are traditional colonial practices painted in green, but red glow shines through for every side of the conflict. This can't be the human dignity which all member states had promised to protect. I thank you, Mr. Chair, and the whole committee for the opportunity to be heard.


4th Committee · Chair [56:27]:

I thank the petitioner. Now I invite the next petitioner, Jamal Fadel, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Petitioner [56:38]:

In the name of God the gracious the merciful, Mr Chair, ladies and gentlemen, I am here today before you while I think of the suffering of my people and to evoke the voice of those who cannot be here with us the International Community cannot ask the Sahrawi people to be patient indefinitely while this people continues to suffer even as its young people are being detained and their political will is being undermined and a political reality is being imposed on them instead of allowing them to determine their future evidence of this is the Moroccan elections in the Sahara, and I would like to be clear, those elections do not represent the Sahrawi people. These elections and their results cannot be considered as a reflection of the will of that people or an authorisation to determine its future. These are Moroccan practices and practices by the Moroccan regime and Moroccan citizens that participated in these elections and their voice cannot constitute the voice of the Sahrawi people. The right to self-determination cannot be replaced by these elections which took place in the context of this political set of circumstances, the Sahrawi people are the only ones who can determine their future, not Moroccan institutions or their representatives. Those elections that were organized by this Moroccan regime...


4th Committee · Chair [58:12]:

For this statement. And now I give the floor to the distinguished representative of Morocco.


Morocco [58:19]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I feel compelled to raise this point of order following the unacceptable statements just made by the petitioner. Please, I would respectfully request that the decorum be maintained and that the petitioners strictly confine their remarks to the subjects under consideration. Thank you, Mr. Chair.


4th Committee · Chair [58:47]:

I thank you, the distinguished representative of Morocco. Before I ask the petitioner to resume speaking, I request him to respect the committee's decorum and limit the statement to the territory under consideration. The petitioner may now continue, and you have-- how much time? Yeah, one minute and 21 seconds. You have the clock.


Petitioner [59:21]:

this fourth committee and the United Nations should not only listen to statements about the suffering of the Sahrawi people and adopt resolutions. The committee needs to take measures to allow the Sahrawi people to enjoy their inalienable right to self-determination. For a long time, we have waited for that right. We have waited for decades. The Sahrawi people is still awaiting decolonization. And for that decolonization not to be a dead letter, but for it to instead be a political reality that allows us to choose our future under the supervision of the United Nations, including the right to liberation. Without the consent of the Sahrawi people, we cannot accept the various resolutions. The National Front and the Polisario Front must be part of all serious efforts regarding the future of Sahara. To conclude, I would like to talk to you about the detainee, the Sahrawi detainees that are still in the occupation's prison, the future of a people.


4th Committee · Chair [1:00:44]:

I invite the next petitioner, Touria Hiane, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Founder [1:00:52]:

I cannot enter this room without thinking of the women who have been held in Tindouf camps for decades. far from the attention of this committee and the international community. It is for this woman that I speak today. As a woman and as founder of association dedicated to defending women's rights, I would like to draw this committee attention to the human dimension of this original artificial conflict. Indeed, Mother, children, and family held against their will for more than 50 years continue to suffer from different form of violation of their human rights and fundamental freedom, even their basic need are denied. Mr. Chair, one of this present issue is a question of separation of families. In fact, mother have watched their children being sent away from detention camps for long period of time. Could you imagine the pain of a mother who cannot see her child? Could you imagine a fear of a mother who cannot decide how her own child is raised? Could you, Mr. Chair, imagine the distress of a mother who sees her child sent far away to receive military training instead of going to school? A child going through brainwash, a child learning to hate Morocco at the early age. Our association has repeatedly raised concern about practices that separate children from their family and expose them to ideological influence at an age when they should be learning, growing, and being protected by their parent, at an age where they should embrace love, tolerance, and acceptance. And in contrast to this terrible situation in Tindouf camps, women and their children in Morocco live together happily in peace. They enjoy all the right and freedom entitled to them by the international law. Even more women are empowered in Morocco, and this is proven in daily basis. Moroccan women are active voter, elected representative, mayor, minister, and political leader. For example, in the latest parliamentary election, women won 107 seat in the House of Representative, including from the southern province. And today, for the first time in Morocco's history, a woman, Fatima Zahra El Mansouri, have been appointed head of government. after her party come first in those election. This historic milestone send a powerful message. Women must not simply be spoken for, must be empowered to speak, choose, lead, and shape their own future. What I have just said, Mr. Chair, remind us of one thing, Morocco's autonomy plan offer women in- Morocco's autonomy.


4th Committee · Chair [1:03:52]:

I thank the petitioner. Now I invite, I thank the petitioner. Now I invite the next petitioner, Sif Eddine Samani, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Former political prisoner [1:04:09]:

Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen, members of this fourth committee, as a former political prisoner, I have seen Morocco's practices in the occupied areas of the Sahara and I am speaking to you today to draw your attention to the continuation of colonialization which is increasingly suffering of the Sahrawi people this people is still awaiting the enjoyment of its inalienable right to self-determination and independence Mr. chair in the occupied territories of Western Sahara there are still ways that activists and human rights defenders can act, but they are being oppressed. Many Sahrawi political prisoners are no longer eating in protest at the conditions of their detention and the practices they are subjected to. this includes those detained in the humanitarian uh whose humanitarian and health situation is a source of concern a hunger strike is not merely an objection it is a cry ringing out from the prison and an appeal to the International Community saying that the the matter must not be be forgotten therefore I call upon the members of this committee to shoulder their responsibilities and call for the release of political prisoners uh guarantee their fundamental rights we also need an international mechanism to monitor human rights in the region. Mr. Chair, while the Sahrawi people are being repressed, We also see the illegal exploitation of natural resources, even while the Sahrawi people do not have the right to self-determination. This includes fisheries, phosphate, land and other energy sources. They are now being exploited and are subject to investment, even as the Sahrawi people is deprived of their right to self-determination and to dispose of their natural resources. Economic development cannot be an alternative to decolonization and natural resources should no longer be a way to impose a fait accompli. Mr. Chair, we are also gravely concerned by international attempts to bypass the question and to turn this question into a political dispute rather than a matter of decolonization. There are thus attempts to not respect the rights of the Sahrawi people. Political initiatives must not obscure the request of the Sahrawi people, and it should not allow us to deny the Sahrawi people their right to self-determination.


4th Committee · Chair [1:07:09]:

Khadija Zaoui to take the floor. You have the floor.


Morocco · Engineer [1:07:16]:

My name is Khadija Zaoui, a Sahrawi woman born and raised in Laayoune. I attended its public schools, grew up within its community, and later left for Rabat to pursue my studies in energy engineering. Today, I have returned to my region not only as an engineer, but as a woman entrusted with a leadership role in one of the most technically demanding and strategically important sectors of our time, renewable energy and green hydrogen. I currently lead a large-scale green hydrogen program in Lyon region, representing more than $7 billion in planned investment, which is a responsibility that requires much more than technical expertise. Mr. Chair, over the past years, the southern provinces have progressively diversified the renewable energy base. Wind and solar power are now being completed by projects in green hydrogen, green ammonia, seawater desalination, and energy-intensive industries, with the objective not merely to produce electricity, but to build an integrated green energy ecosystem capable of attracting investment, generating employment, and connecting the Moroccan Sahara to emerging international value chains. These promising projects prove that there is a true return on investment with young Sahrawi people, with young people from Laayoune and Dakhla acquiring the qualifications necessary to become part of these industries themselves, thanks to the specialized institute for renewable energy trades in Tarfaya that provides 762 training places dedicated specifically to skills required by the renewable energy sector. In Laayoune, the city of trades and skills has the capacity to train 2,000 young people every year across 46 different programs, with approximately 70% of those programs newly created to respond to the evolving needs of the regional economy. Ms. Cher, as a Sahrawi woman leading flagship projects on Nubel, I and many young skilled Sahrawis like me give today the example of active local participation participation as local professionals with elected representatives, economic operators, civil society organizations, training institutions, we all play a role in identifying our region's priorities, anticipating skills requirements, supporting local entrepreneurship, and establishing environmental safeguards. Through the programs we are leading, we invest in wind and solar resources, but we also invest in local engineers who will manage them. We build desalination infrastructure, but we also protect the ecosystems and water resources on which future generations will depend. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:10:16]:

I thank the petitioner. Now I invite the next petitioner, Jerome Besnard, to take the floor. You have the floor.


France · Academic [1:10:26]:

Mr. Chair, I am speaking before your committee as an academic. on the settlement in the Moroccan Sahara. We would have needed 50 years of status quo and the social misery in these encampment maintained by the host country for the UN Security Council to take things in hand and impose the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty to put an end to this artificial conflict that has been created. artificially. Originally, the Moroccan sovereignty plan is the only political horizon. The resolution set a new course in realism and pragmatism, which is the only way to achieve a lasting settlement. It is no longer time to prevaricate. There is therefore one question. How much longer will the international community accept that the country to the east of Morocco continues to maintain this blockade? This country cannot claim to be outside of this conflict while simultaneously hosting on its territory a separatist entity. with terrorist purposes, continuing to finance it, defend it diplomatically and arm it militarily. Mr. Chair, there is no longer any ambiguity. The country to the east of Morocco is the only party that is able to put an end to this regional dispute, and I repeat this, it is the only party to be maintaining the status quo, while it also holds the keys to definitively put an end to it. Faced with this reality, the international community has shouldered its responsibility with Resolution 2797. That resolution clarified the end goal of the political process and recalled the role and responsibility of the parties to the dispute, in particular that of the host country of the Tindouf camp. It also constitutes a roadmap for the implementation of the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty. The end of the status quo involves the dismantling of Tindouf camp and the end of a situation that has lasted for too long. It may not please the host country of those camps, but the vast majority of UN member states now support the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty. My country, France, believes that the president and future of Sahara is in the context of Moroccan sovereignty and that the autonomy initiative constitutes the only basis for a just, lasting, negotiated political solution. This development takes the form of investment, structural infrastructure that I've been able to visit, deep-rooted economic transformation in the southern provinces that France is supporting through its operators and businesses. Two paths are available now, that of development and integration, and the path of the status quo imposed by the host country of the Tindouf camps, which is prioritizing a policy of confrontation, division, and destruction in the region and on the African continent. It is now time for a lasting solution to this dispute through autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty to allow for regional integration. I therefore, in that regard, commend the vision of His Majesty the King, Mohammed VI, who has continued to stretch out an open hand to the neighboring country and who has carried out economic initiatives to benefit the entire region. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:13:15]:

I thank the petitioner. Now I invite the next petitioner, Ali Kefsi, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Researcher / journalist [1:13:26]:

Mr. Chair, my name is Dr. Ali Kefsi. I am a researcher in African affairs and a journalist who stands in solidarity with the question of Moroccan Sahara. I am here today to share the humanitarian and legal truth, the unquestionable truth. If the Sahara is Moroccan, why then is Morocco trying to Moroccanize it? And if that Sahara is not Moroccan, how then could Morocco impose its identity on it forcibly? Attempts at Moroccanization. are not evidence of sovereignty, rather they are an implicit acknowledgement. Yes, Mr. Chair, the political propaganda of the occupation is trying to conceal the reality, even as the occupation is propagating stories about historic sovereignty. On the other hand, we have the advisory opinion of the ICJ of 1975. That opinion demonstrated and spoke of those fallacious allegations. According to that advisory opinion, there is no link, no historic link, and this territory has never been a part of Morocco.


4th Committee · Chair [1:14:52]:

This statement, and now I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Morocco.


Morocco [1:14:59]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I will speak in Arabic, please. I believe that the facts.

That a belief does not transform illusions into reality. And I call upon the petitioner to show respect. We are not talking about Morocco here today, and we are not here to talk about Moroccan institutions. And I call upon you to uphold the rules within this institution.


4th Committee · Chair [1:15:29]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Morocco. Before I ask the petitioner to resume speaking, I request him to respect the Commission's decorum, and the petitioner may now Okay. Now I give the floor to the distinguished delegates of Algeria.


Algeria [1:15:47]:

Thank you, Mr.


4th Committee · Chair [1:15:51]:

Yeah, please.

Now I give the floor to the distinguished delegates of Algeria.


Algeria [1:16:04]:

Thank You, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon, dear colleagues. I believe until now, the session was moving forward in an appeased manner. I don't understand why-- and I'm speaking truly. I don't understand why the distinguished colleague from the delegation of Morocco has interrupted the petitioners. And I think that in previous sessions, we made the point to explain that the petitioner has the right to deliver his statement in a strong way and in a convinced way and this is not a valid point to interrupt and I can assure you he was not speaking outside of the topic under consideration thank you Mr. chair.


4th Committee · Chair [1:17:06]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Algeria. And now I repeat myself, but before asking the petitioner to resume speaking, I request him to respect the Commission's decorum. And the petition have one minute 45 seconds. Now you have the floor.


Researcher / journalist [1:17:32]:

Mr. Chair. The policy of fait accompli that the occupation is trying to impose upon us on the ground by opening up consulates and building walls of sand full of mines can in no way transform this question. It is a question of incomplete decolonization, Mr. Chair. The argument behind autonomy is a mask to conceal the rights of the Sahrawi people to self-determination? What of justice when it comes to this proposal, which deprives this people of making their choice through a referendum supervised by the United Nations? Mr. Chair. Development in the occupied zone. is merely a facade to conceal the illegal pillaging of the natural resources of the region in a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. But the occupation cannot succeed because all of its efforts are not going to succeed. Western Sahara will remain Western Sahara with the authenticity of its people. Their struggle and military force cannot change this question. Thank you for your attention.


4th Committee · Chair [1:19:01]:

I thank the petitioner. Now I invite the next petitioner, Nabroha Duihi, to have the floor.


Petitioner [1:19:12]:

The suffering of Sahrawi women in the Tindouf camps deserve the full attention of this committee. For almost five decades, generations of Sahrawi women under the violent capture of the Polisario Front have been forcibly made to be the human cost of a geopolitical conflict that is not their own. and of a flawed political project that has kept an entire population exposed to insecurity, exploitation, and isolation in the heart of the desert. Deisufi is not one-dimensional. It is physical, it is social, it is psychological, it is economic, and it is humanitarian. These women face gender-based violence in Tindouf camps and environments where even the scale of abuse is unimaginable. They suffer sexual exploitation and have to remain silent because they fear stigma. They are obligated to remain silent because they depend on the humanitarian aid that the Polisario use as a potential against them if they decide to speak out their suffering. Mr. Chair, Human Rights Watch has documented practices that reveal how severe women's suffering is in the camps. It found evidence that slavery-related practices persisted among dark-skinned Sahrawi. Those practices include involuntary domestic servitude and cases in which women require the approval of persons regarded as their own in order to marry. A woman compelled to perform domestic labors against her will is not empowered. A woman whose freedom to marry depends upon another person's approval is not free. Human Rights Watch also documented disturbing information concerning the treatment of unmarried mothers. They will thought that the Polisario leadership called a woman confined in a special facility without her consent, ostensibly to protect her from so-called "honour violence". Mr. Chair, 50 years under the Polisario de facto control, and Sahrawi women in the Tindouf camps still face fragile access to health care, education, economic opportunity and effective legal protection. And 50 years later, they remain caught under these armed groups, while the United Nations Human Rights Committee has warned that this de facto transfer of jurisdiction leaves victims denied their basic right to a dignified life. Morocco presents the autonomy initiative as a means of ending this prolonged suffering and enabling women in the Tindouf camps to participate in managing their own local affairs within an institutional framework based on citizen and equal treatment. In his Royal Address of 31st October 2025, His Majesty King Mohammed VI placed dignity at the heart of Moroccan vision. It is a vision of a dignified return, one that restores family ties, protects individual dignity, and offers every returnee the same right, the same citizen, and the same place in the nation. Thank you, Mr. Chair.


4th Committee · Chair [1:22:06]:

I thank the petitioner. Now I invite the next petitioner, Mohammed El-Awasowey, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Petitioner [1:22:17]:

Mr. Chair, for over five decades, and there has been an area in the world, which are the camps of Tindouf, where the dignity of humans is stepped over underfoot, and people are deprived even of the right of being counted by the United Nations. High Commissioner for Refugees. I come here today to call for an end to the violations that the residents of these camps are being subjected to. I have come here to defend their right to have their voices heard and to be given the chance to exercise all of their rights and their basic freedoms. Defending human rights does not accept selectivity. We cannot excuse, and we cannot justify limiting the freedom of movement or choice and justify it with political considerations. Any conflict, regardless of how prolonged it is, cannot become an excuse to deprive generation after generation of their right to a dignified life. Mr. Chair, the pathetic situation and the dire situation in these camps that has existed for over half a century cannot remain as this. and as it is now. The residents of the Tindouf camps are not simply statistics in international reports. They cannot be simply words in a political speech. They are men, women, and children who have the right to express their opinions, to move freely, and to build their futures away from fear and subjugation. From this very forum, I call upon the international community to accord greater attention to putting an end to the human rights violations inside the camps of Tindouf in Algeria, and to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid to those who need it, transparently and clearly, so that people are able to exercise their basic rights with no pressure and no coercion. Defending human rights. must come hand in hand with a search for a realistic and permanent solution to this conflict within the political framework led by the United Nations in accordance with Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 2797. The Security Council Resolution 2797 has given a genuine opportunity for a political process by calling for the resumption of negotiations on the basis of the autonomy initiative under Moroccan sovereignty which opens the door to overcoming the stalemate and heading towards a pragmatic, and permanent political solution. This historic resolution places the country hosting the camps before an ethical responsibility. The microphone has been cut off.


4th Committee · Chair [1:25:17]:

Now I invite the next petitioner, Angel Patino, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Petitioner [1:25:25]:

Distinguished delegates, Western Sahara must be decolonized. and the right to self-determination of its people must be recognized. I'm grateful for the opportunity to participate in this session of the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly of the UN to denounce the neocolonial oppression exercised by the Moroccan regime and advocate for the right to self-determination and independence of the Sahrawi people. I'm speaking based on experience and reality of being an immigrant. Which one of you would accept?


4th Committee · Chair [1:26:03]:

Meant now, I give the floor to the distinguished delegate of Morocco. You have the floor.


Morocco [1:26:08]:

Mr. Chair, I'm compelled to remind that the freedom of speech does not exempt anyone from respecting the rules and respecting the states members here. The topic today is not Moroccan institutions. Please, I call again respectfully to keep the decorum maintained, please. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:26:30]:

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


Petitioner [1:26:42]:

Which of you would accept that their home would be occupied by a neighbor and who slowly, using different methods, would be displacing you and turning you into a pariah in your own land or even in exile? The conditions to which Morocco has subjected Western Sahara is provoking a forced exile of new generations of Sahrawis. Morocco is promoting a process of gentrification of the territory. The conditions to which it subjects its inhabitants and the repression that it exercises against those who demand a legitimate right to independence is aimed at displacing its population from its territory and can be considered as a kind of silent genocide against the Sahrawi people. In a subtle way or by force, Morocco is conducting a demographic engineering to change the composition of the population in the territory, thus facilitating its colonial project of once and for all, gaining power of the ancestral territory of the Sahrawis. Today, Morocco is emulating in its role of occupying power the regime of Israel, implementing demographic settlement policy to alter the demography of the territories with economic measures that favor the new settlers and discriminating the original Sahari population. Various socioeconomic studies and statements by human rights organizations have denounced discrimination and disadvantages in terms of opportunities, in terms of access to jobs, housing, land, and social services for huge sectors of the Sahari population that is not in favor of the Moroccan control. So today I would ask the Moroccan authorities, why do you deny to Western Sahara the right that you are demanding for Ceuta and Melilla, if in both cases the idea is to put an end to colonial domination?

Occupation is not--


4th Committee · Chair [1:29:11]:

English representative of Morocco.


Morocco [1:29:17]:

I think that's-- talking about The topic under consideration does not require any extraordinary ability. We have one subject under consideration, and I kindly request, Mr. Chair, to keep the decorum maintained and respected by petitioners. Otherwise, you would respectfully, please, ask them to stop or to pass to the next petitioner, please. The topic is the Moroccan Sahara, and it's not Moroccan authorities, not the Moroccan institutions. Thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:29:51]:

I thank you, the distinguished delegates of Morocco. Now I give the floor to the next petitioner, Mohammed Edabada. You have the floor.


Morocco · Entrepreneur [1:30:06]:

Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, I'm speaking to you today as a young entrepreneur from the southern provinces. I have chosen to take up private entrepreneurship and to make this entrepreneurship and investment a path to build my future and to contribute to the creation of wealth and job opportunities. This is a choice that many of my generation of young Sahrawi people have engaged in. All of them are aware of the promising prospects that the Moroccan Sahara opens up today for the private sector. I am proud to be the fruit of this institutional effort that has provided us as Sahrawis with all the elements for success. I consider my experience, along with the experience of many others, this experience is indeed the result of an integrated approach that was adopted by state institutions. One of the most important effects of this environment is that it's contributed to the maturation of our entrepreneurial practice by investing in qualifications, improving management, digitalization, raising the quality of services. All of these measures have enabled us to develop a set of standards that are nationally and internationally recognized. This has constituted an important leap forward because it is no longer covered by the local market or limited by the local market. Rather, we are now able to build our competitiveness and to invest and work throughout the Kingdom. Mr. Chair, the the professional training in the southern areas during the 2025-2026 season. This vocational training system has provided more than 22,000 opportunities for education across 25 institutions and 132 divisions covering 13 sectors. This provides building qualifications in the areas of Laayoune and Dakhla, which directly links training to the needs of the labor market, and they provide space for mentoring and for incubation and for entrepreneurship. This is reinforced by several programs, such as the Idmaj program, which in 2026 was expanded to serve young people who do not have degrees, and a graduate training program that has allowed for the formation of a relationship based on trust between young people and the state institutions. As a Sahrawi youth, Mr. Chair, we look forward to the future with confidence, and we speak a language that is not understood by some voices that are still trapped in the discourse of the victim and insist on presenting a completely unrelated picture to our reality as Sahrawis on the ground. Our youth speak the languages of initiative, of success, efficiency, competition, and value creation. We refuse to be reduced to a frozen image that does not reflect the transformations that we're experiencing, or we have to spend our development and build a future subject to futile political theses. Microphone has been cut off.


4th Committee · Chair [1:33:08]:

Now I give the floor to the next petitioner, Hamada El-Bayhi, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Morocco · Petitioner [1:33:16]:

Mr. Chair.

Before I became part of the homeland in Morocco, I was one of the people who was raised in the Tindouf camps. For decades, I lived in that reality. And I know for firsthand experience what the Sahrawi suffer there. They are living under the harsh rule of the Polisario, whose control of the camps is based the reason that they continue to live in misery and continue to depend on humanitarian aid. How can an armed group control the daily lives of civilians and violate international law in what is presented to the world as refugee camps. Have you ever heard of refugee camps that have lasted for 50 years under the control of an armed organization? This organization does not consider the Sahrawis as individuals with freedom and the right to choose. Rather, they measure them by the degree of their loyalty Is it not enough what the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations openly considered an open violation of international law by the fact that the Polisario continues to run these camps, taking advantage of an illegal mandate by the host country? And in the investigation conducted by the European Office to Combat fraud, OLAF, has found that this corrupt organization imposes on specialized United Nations agencies and donor countries, impose that their role only be limited to sending aid and that's all. Here we must pose the legitimate question, why does the Polisario and those who run it refuse to have a comprehensive and independent census of the Tindouf camps? if it were not for the great financial gain that they reap by selling an important part of the humanitarian aid to simply fill their bank accounts abroad. This opacity only serves the Polisario and those who protect it. The individual census of the refugee camps' residents will give every person a name, an identity, a registered status, and this would allow us to be aware of the situation of families, children, and vulnerable groups and their needs independently from the organization that is running the camps. It would also place the-- it would also deny the claim that Polisario is the only true representative of the camps. There is a historic and ethical responsibility to those that-- of the-- The party that is responsible for all of this, the only party, the sole party, the only party that's responsible for this is Algeria, Algeria alone. Then Algeria. I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:36:08]:

I thank you, the petitioner. Now I invite the next petitioner, Bachir Goua Ahmed, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Morocco · Film director [1:36:20]:

I speak before you today as a Sahrawi who works in the cultural and artistic field. I am a cinematic director from the Moroccan Sahrawi people, and I lived in a culture that is rich in its heritage and spoken memory. and I have chosen the cinema and films to express as a means to express this culture and this experience. But my professional experience is not simply an isolated individual experience, rather as part of a greater shift in the southern provinces where interest in local culture was transformed from simply maintaining heritage to allowing Sahrawi creative persons to produce their creativity. The protection of cultural rights and supporting them in the Sahara provinces primarily stems from the Moroccan Constitution's fifth chapter, which stipulates the importance of preserving the Hassani culture as an inseparable part of Moroccan culture and identity. And this is important because it transforms the concept of identity simply from recognition to that of adopting programs that give creative persons the ability to express themselves and be creative. And it allows local idiosyncrasies to be expressed in the public sphere. The Moroccan Cinematic Center, since January 2015, allocates 15 million dirhams annually to the production of documentaries on the Sahrawi and Hassani cultures. This has impacted us so that these works were able to compete nationally and internationally. My films have participated in several national and international festivals and have been awarded prizes inside and abroad, the most recent of which was the London Film Festival. My film, The Call, in 2006, was chosen for official competition in the Florida Cinematic Festival, which shows that local abilities are able to reach audiences outside of Morocco. The Al Ayoune channel is important because it is an important link in supporting creativity, audiovisual creativity. Ever since this television channel was launched in 2004, it has played an important role in documenting the Hassani culture and transforming an important aspect of verbal culture into content that can be recorded and can be spread. And internal production of the Al Ayyun channel has exceeded 400 hours of programs in addition to 200 hours of external production that included cultural products produced locally. This dynamic is what achieves the necessary integration between the different links of a cultural policy and allow the link between the Constitution's recognition of our culture--


4th Committee · Chair [1:39:21]:

The petitioner

Now I invite the next petitioner, El Fadil Bouadda Mohamed, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Human rights defender [1:39:33]:

Mr. Chair, my name is Fadil Bouadda. I am a human rights defender, a Sahrawi man, and I'm here to speak of a reality that I know very well from inside the camps of the Sahrawi captives in Tindouf. I was raised in an environment where rights were violated and freedoms were repressed, and people pay a great price for simply expressing an opinion that may be a dissenting one. And I am personally one of the victims of the Polisario militia's violations. I was kidnapped and I was held because of my positions and my criticism of the leadership. I was subjected to different forms of torture and ill treatment. My My contribution stems from my belief that the situation of rights and freedoms in Tindouf must occupy the centrality of your considerations here. We are in camps that have become a space of lawlessness that is being controlled by an armed group and that has no means of resorting to justice to the host country. I'm not simply speaking of things that are hearsay. I have personally lived the experiences in the detention camp of and other Sahrawi activists have been tortured and detained there. We have recorded us, the victims, have recorded this experience. And the number of secret captivity sites in the camps exceeds 20 sites. And international organizations such as the United Nations Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International and Frass Libertae organization, which is an organization that supports the Polisario, all of these have recorded witness testimonies on on these acts of ill treatment and in the Rashid in the Rashid camp it talked about the secret uh graveyards as well as the death of captives during captivity those who speak on behalf of the polar today are in fact speaking on behalf of an armed group that is involved in grievous violations of human rights in the camps we're here to speak of our direct personal experiences of being detained of being oppressed of being tortured in these camps it is painful that this organization that presents itself as of the Sahrawis is the same organization where it who has recorded undocumented practices of violations perpetrated against Sahrawis who have dissented from it and disagreed with it. The Polisario The legal and the primary responsibility for the Polisario's actions lies on the party that has clear international obligations and that cannot be excused from its responsibility for these violations. Those who host the Polisario on their land, who protect them, and who allow them to live with impunity is the state of Algeria. Yes, I say it, the state of Algeria. The state of Algeria is the primary party responsible for all the violations and all of the suffering that we, the Sahrawis, are experiencing. I thank you.


4th Committee · Chair [1:42:19]:

I think the petitioner Now I invite the next petitioner, Guillermo Sanchez, to take the floor. You have the floor.


Speaker 80 [1:42:34]:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the Fourth Committee. There are Sahrawi families that have been waiting to go home for half a century. grandfathers that have grown old in exile, parents that were born in camps, and children who know their land only through memories. For these families, this conflict can be measured in lives. I represent the Council of Mallorca to tell you that their weight is important for us and to demand that once and for all they can decide on their future freely through a self-determination referendum. Mallorca for decades have had close links to the Sahrawi people thanks to commitment of the Mallorca Solidarity and Friendship Fund with the SARI people from the Balearic Islands. A solidarity built person to person that has brought our communities together and supported many families. This commitment compels us to raise our voice, because humanitarian assistance is essential but cannot be converted into an indefinite wait. The United Nations, 35 years ago, created a mission that has the word "referendum" in its name. The Sahrawi people continue waiting for this promise to be fulfilled. Spain has a historic responsibility that it cannot shirk. We, uh, the Spanish support for the, uh, Moroccan autonomy, uh, plan substitutes the defense of the right of the Sahari people, uh, for their opportunity to elect their future. Nothing can justify denying the Sahrawi people the right to speak. This is why we demand the United Nations to foster, with guarantees and a specific timetable, a self-determination referendum which includes an independence option. How many generations more must grow up far from their land before the international community acts? The Sahrawi people has demonstrated its capacity to resist. Let's not ask it to continue demonstrating how much suffering it can continue to bear. It's time to act, acting to ensure dignified living conditions for the Sahrawi people, acting to protect their rights and freedoms, act so that exile, separation of families, and uncertainty stop characterizing their lives. And to act, lastly, to make possible a political solution that is just, lasting, and compliant with international law by holding a self-determination referendum that allows the Sahrawi people to freely decide their future. They have the right to decide. Let's make it possible. Thank you very much. Thank you for your attention.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [1:45:15]:

I thank the petitioner and before I give the floor to the next petitioner, I would like to remind petitioners and speakers are requested to refrain from discussing territories that are not among those 17 non-self-governing territories on the committee's agenda. I would like now to give the floor to Magdalena Ramis. You have the floor.


Petitioner [1:45:43]:

Members of the Fourth Committee, ladies and gentlemen, I invite you to reflect on what it means for 50 years means for a girl or a boy. A girl or a boy cannot wait for 50 years. Over that time, their childhood will pass. They will reach the age of adult, and possibly they might see their own children grow in the same situation. This is exactly what is taking place with entire generations of the Sahrawi people. In the refugee camps of Tindouf, thousands of children and teenagers study, play, work, imagine a future, and build projects for their lives. They were born, grew up, and matured in a situation that was supposed to be temporary and has become permanent. The Sahrawi people have demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for resilience. They have built schools in the desert, organized community services, and preserved their collective identity for decades. Sahrawi women have played an essential role in education, in care, and in social cohesion. However, resilience cannot become an excuse for inaction. No child, no teenager should see their future conditioned by the inability of the international community to resolve a decolonization conflict that is pending. No generation should inherit exile as though it were their inescapable destiny. The United Nations recognizes the higher interests of the child, that this should be the primary consideration in all decisions that affect children. The rights of children are not a political aspiration or a promise for the future. They are legal and moral obligations that must be ensured today. This is why we make an appeal to the United Nations, to its member states, and to all institutions and organizations with authority in the area of protection of children, humanitarian aid and human rights and decolonization, that they bolster their commitment to Sahrawi children. It's not enough to support them. It's not enough to observe. We need to act, to act in order to ensure dignified conditions, act to strengthen the effective protections of the right of children, act to make sure that new generations do not continue to grow up in uncertainty, and enact ultimately to ensure the implementation of UN resolutions and make possible a solution that is just, lasting, and in line with international law that allows us to hurry people to freely choose their right to self-determination, because each year of political stalemate is a year lost for children. Those that are learning to write in the refugee camps, may they learn to write their own history in freedom. Thank you.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [1:48:32]:

I thank the petitioner, and before I give the floor to the next petitioner, I would like to recall that only accredited media representatives escorted by a representative of the Department of Global Communications will be permitted to film petitioner statements. And in this regard, I also like to recall that the meetings of the Fourth Committee are being webcast. Thank you. I would like now to hand the floor to the next petitioner, Ahmed Tayani Lambaraki.

You have the floor, sir.


Speaker 84 [1:49:08]:

Madam Chair, I am the representative of Equipedia. an independent Sahrawi press agency founded in 2009 in Western Sahara to break the information blockade and to document at enormous risk what is happening on the ground. Today I am appearing before you to talk about the price of being a journalist in our territory, which is subject to a military and media blockade where we, the Sahrawis, suffer repression and serious restrictions on our fundamental rights. In the occupied Western Sahara, we are living under a strong military and police presence. Our freedoms of expression and assembly are restricted, and we are exposed to detentions, intimidation and aggression. Those of us that try to show this reality are also persecuted. There are journalists that have been in prison for 16 years, including Bachir Khadda, Hassan Dah, Abdelahi Laqhouani and Mohamed Lamine Haddi. In addition, there are five Sahrawi Agdim Izik prisoners who are on hunger strike to protest their imprisonment conditions and to demand respect for their rights. We are not talking about numbers. We are talking about people who have cameras, microphones and words. People whose work, whose job was to inform and to give a voice to our people. And for that reason, they ended up behind bars. Meanwhile, journalists, observers and international human rights defenders are met with closed doors. Their access is restricted, witnesses are expelled, and there are attempts made to keep our territory away from the eyes of the world. But the inevitable question is, if there is nothing to hide, why block the entry of observers and journalists? Why fear a camera? One cannot speak of a credible process while the military and media blockade continues, while we suffer repression, and while international observers and journalists are prevented from working freely on the ground. Therefore, we call upon the United Nations and its Member States to guarantee free and immediate access to Western Sahara and to allow the United Nations human rights mechanisms to work on the ground. that they protect Sahrawi journalists, defenders and prisoners. Peace cannot be built on silence nor on impunity. When the press is banned, violations do not disappear.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [1:52:14]:

I thank the petitioner for his statement and I would like now to hand the floor to the next petitioner, you have the floor.


President [1:52:26]:

Signori e signori delegati presenti. Sono qui oggi in qualità. Mi chiamo Infantis Susi. Sono qui oggi in qualità di doge della nazione veneta autodeterminata e di presidente dell'ONG Ente Popolare Nazione Veneta quale rappresentante del popolo ancestrale veneto per esprimere la nostra solidarietà al popolo del Sahara Occidentale e per richiamare l'attenzione di questa commissione sull'importanza di portare a compimento i.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [1:52:51]:

Yes, I have to stop you.


Speaker 88 [1:52:53]:

The speaker is using a non-official language.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [1:52:56]:

In Italian, and we have no interpretation. If you could please do your statement in one of the official languages of the United Nations. I thank you. Shall I move to the next speaker, please? You can try. You have the floor. Thank you.


President [1:53:44]:

I would also like to recall the advisory opinion in the International Court of Justice of October 16, 1975. The Court concluded that the elements submitted to it did not establish any territorial sovereignty. between Western Sahara and the Kingdom of Morocco of Mauritanian entity that might not affect the application of resolution 1514 and in particular the principle of self-determination, to the free and genuine expression of the will of the people of the territory. Therefore, is addressed on simple and to this committee. The colonization process of Western Sahara must neither be forgotten nor superseded by the passage of time. The people of Western Sahara must be able to participate freely in determining their political future in compliance with the Charter of the United Nations, international law and the relevant resolution. We are not seeking for a solution imposed from the outside. We ask that the principle of decolonization and self-determination be respected and that the future on the territory determination and peaceful, credible process in accordance with international law. This is why we are there today, stating on the side the people of Western Sahara, so that the international community may continue to support the colonization process on the Sahari peoples, and rig on the self-determination. Thank you all your attention.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [1:55:52]:

Thank you so much. The next speaker on my list is Mouhieddine Souivi. You have the floor.


Petitioner [1:56:03]:

Madam Chair, distinguished delegates, and honored guests, thank you for the opportunity to once again address this committee, though I speak today with a heavy heart and an even heavier sense of disillusionment. Because since the last time I stood here, not a single pen has moved, not a single paper has been signed, not a single step has been taken to ease the suffering of the Sahrawi people. And with all due respect, I must ask, what is the point of this committee if it continues to function as a theater of inaction? Is this institution truly committed to decolonization or merely performing it? Are we guardians of justice or just caretakers of empty resolutions? Because what we are seeing is not just negligence, it's complicity. I have walked through Western Sahara. I've spoken with the people, and I've seen the fear etched into their daily lives. Western Sahara is not a disputed territory. It's not an administrative region. It's a captured nation trapped behind invisible barbed wire, where to raise your voice is to risk your life. The Moroccan monarchy has turned it into an open-air prison, ruled not by law but by surveillance, censorship, and the ever-present threat of violence. Let's not sanitize our language. This is occupation, this is colonialism, and this is a deliberate campaign of erasure, of silencing a people's identity, memory, and future. People here have been interrupted simply for mentioning Western Sahara. We seem to have forgotten that this committee is specifically dedicated to the question of Western Sahara. We must be able to address these territories using the rightful names, which is Western Sahara, a. There is no such thing as the Moroccan Sahara. If Western Sahara were Moroccan, we wouldn't be here, God forbid. The Moroccan delegation sits here today comfortably shielded by the trapping of protocol, but no amount of suits, titles, or diplomatic language can hide the truth. Behind your flag is a regime that jails children for waving theirs, that imprisons journalists for telling the truth. that profits of stolen resources while the indigenous people of the land are crushed under its boots. So I issue this challenge, and I do not issue it lightly. Allow an unsupervised UN mission into Western Sahara. No handlers, no Moroccan observers, no curated tour, just the truth, raw and infiltrated. If there is nothing to hide, then prove it. But we all know why you want, because your regime fears transparency more than it fears resistance. Free Western Sahara.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [1:59:04]:

I would like to thank this petitioner and I would like to remind all the persons who are in the room to not clap and to please respect the decorum of this committee. I would also like to remind those petitioners who are speaking to please address the committee. Thank you. I would like now to hand the floor to the next petitioner, Zine Al Abideh Al Kuali. You have the floor. Thank you.


Morocco [1:59:38]:

Thank you, Madam Vice Chair. As representatives of the inhabitants of the Saharan provinces, we welcome today a moment that differs markedly from all previous stages of this dispute over the past decades, on the 31st of October. of the past year, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2797, a resolution that reflects an important development in the international community's approach towards this issue by defining the framework within which all efforts aimed at achieving a lasting and definitive settlement of this artificial dispute over the Moroccan Sahara should be pursued. For the entire world knows who are the original people who perpetrated this dispute who sponsors it. This resolution endorses the autonomy initiative under Moroccan sovereignty as the sole basis for negotiations. And it was an outcome of a cumulative political and diplomatic process that demonstrates the growing conviction within the international community that continued reliance and outdated ideas and approaches is no longer acceptable. And here I want to refer to the position-- I'm not referring to the position of an isolated bilateral relation, but rather a broad international consensus supported by influential countries, including the US, France, Spain, and Germany, and extending to African, Arab, Latin American, and Caribbean countries, as well as even regional groupings, such as the European Union. They have adopted a common position considering autonomy to be the most appropriate solution to this dispute. This significant political momentum is accompanied on the ground by a series of diplomatic developments whose significance cannot be overlooked, particularly the opening of 30 consulates in the cities of Laayoune and Dakhla, constituting a clear recognition of the Moroccan character of the Sahara. There are also important investments, notably from the US and France, in the Moroccan Sahara, which is another recognition of the Moroccan sovereignty over this region. Madam Vice Chair, the implementation of autonomy in the kingdom's provinces did not start from scratch. Rather, it represents a more advanced phase in an institutional process that Morocco has developed over many years to expand the participation of local population in managing their affairs. We, the people of the Sahara, are, do not believe that clinging to political illusions that have been overtaken by international developments cannot justify depriving entire generations of their right to stability, development, and the opportunity to build their future. We don't want a militarized group to govern us, especially with the support of Algeria, those who are illusioned by their resistance to Morocco and anything pertaining to Morocco. Thank you.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:02:36]:

I thank the petitioner, and I would like now to hand the floor to the next petitioner, Nahib Oudim. You have the floor.


Morocco · Petitioner [2:02:45]:

Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, I take the floor today to address the issue of Moroccan Sahara at a decisive moment in the history of this regional dispute. The recent adoption of Security Council Resolution 2797 mark a historic milestone It reaffirms what the international community increasingly recognize. The Moroccan autonomy initiative presented in 2007 constitute the only realistic, pragmatic, and lasting solution to this dispute within the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco. The resolution calls on all parties to engage constructively in a political process based on realism, compromise, and the autonomy framework. Mr. Chair, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, this momentum has reached an unprecedented level. Developments over just the past two weeks demonstrate the growing international support for Morocco's position. Across regions, international support for Morocco's position continues to grow. Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Panama have strengthened their support to Moroccan sovereignty and the engagement in the southern provinces. Mauritius, Jamaica, and Armenia have endorsed the autonomy initiative and the Moroccan sovereignty. And the United States continues to reinforce its recognition through economic initiatives and investments in the southern provinces. Mr. Chair, this growing cross-continental consensus sends a clear message: the Moroccan autonomy initiative is no longer simply a proposal; it has become the only realistic and credible path toward a final political settlement. The principal regional party must therefore assume its responsibility and engage in good faith in the roundtable process established by the Security Council. Obstruction and diplomatic maneuvering cannot be allowed to perpetuate this conflict. Resolution 2797 points toward a clear path forward, a realistic, pragmatic, and lasting political solution within Morocco's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is also time to recognize Algeria's central responsibility in the creation and perpetuation of this artificial dispute. Algeria must fully assume its role and engage constructively in the political process than continue to evade its responsibilities. The time has come to turn this growing international momentum into a definitive resolution that advances peace, stability, and prosperity through.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:05:47]:

I thank the petitioner, and I would like now to hand the floor to the next petitioner. Before the next petitioner, I would like now to hand the floor to the distinguished delegate of Algeria. Sir, you have the floor.


Algeria [2:06:01]:

Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. I on purpose didn't want to interrupt the petitioner as my delegation has shown through our proceedings I think a decent level of tolerance and respect for all the petitioners regardless of their perspective they are bringing but I want just to comment not comment on the the the substance of the of the not this petitioner but the one who spoke before we were tolerant regardless of the perspective but not with insults so we kind of do we kindly appeal to you to consider removing not this petitioner but the one who spoke before who used insults in his statements from the records of our meetings and reports thank you.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:07:04]:

I thank the distinguished delegate from Algeria, and I would like to say that the Chair takes full note of your remarks. I would like now to hand the floor to the next petitioner, and this is Brenda Moffia. You have the floor. Thank you.


OXFAM [2:07:21]:

Madam Chair, distinguished delegates, thank you for the opportunity to address this committee. I speak on behalf of Oxfam, which has worked alongside Sahrawi refugees since 1975, supporting communities in the camps near Tindouf. As several petitioners have noted, 50 years ago, the first Sahrawi families arrived in these camps. Today, grandparents who arrived as children live alongside grandchildren who have never known anything else. Three generations have grown in exile, in one of the harshest deserts on earth. According to the UN, approximately 173,600 people need humanitarian assistance. More than 80% depend on food aid. Acute malnutrition among children under five has risen to 13.6% from 10.7 in 2022, while anemia affects 65.3% of children and 68.8% of women. Yet funding is moving in the opposite direction. The 2026-2027 Sahrawi Refugee Response Plan requests and requires $177 million, while funding has declined by approximately 70% in recent years. The length of this crisis is not a humanitarian failure. It reflects the absence of a political solution. Security Council Resolution 2797 of 2025 reaffirms the need for a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution consistent with the UN Charter and the principles of self-determination. Oxfam, therefore, requests for three things. First, we request for an advance of a political process that enables the people of Western Sahara to exercise the right to self-determination. Self-determination is not only an outcome, it is also a process. Those who have lived this conflict for 50 years must have a meaningful role in shaping its resolution. Second, put Sahrawi voices at the center. Ensure the meaningful participation and leadership of Sahrawi people, Sahrawi refugees, particularly women and children. Third, fund, fund, fund. Fund the response. Provide predictable, multi-year, needs-based humanitarian funding and investment in water, food security, livelihood. To mark this anniversary, Oxfam has put together an exhibition.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:10:22]:

I thank the petitioner, and I would like now to hand the floor to the next petitioner, Maithili Pai. You have the floor.


Petitioner [2:10:31]:

Madam Chair, distinguished delegates, my name is-- Excuse me.

Oh, sorry. and prisoners. Saravi human rights defenders asserting the right to self-determination, documenting violations, and mobilizing communities face criminalization, administrative harassment, physical and psychological abuse, sexual violence, surveillance, and restrictions on fundamental freedoms. This creates a climate of intimidation and self-censorship, limiting the ability of human rights defenders to organize, document violations, or communicate securely, including with the UN. In April, the Committee Against Torture adopted four new decisions concerning Gnaim Izik group members, Hassan Dah, Mohamed Lamine Hadi, Ahmad Sabahi, and Sidi Ahmad Lamjiad, adding to six previous cases, including Namma Afzares. Across these 10 cases, the committee identified a consistent pattern of arbitrary arrest, solitary confinement, torture or ill treatment during interrogation, and the use of confessions under torture. It found that failures to investigate torture allegations and the use of statements obtained through torture revealed a structural problem requiring urgent corrective measures. Yet, all four men remain imprisoned, almost 16 years after Daima Zik. Nama Afzari also remains imprisoned, despite the Committee finding violations of the Convention against Torture in his case a decade ago. UN special procedures have emphasized that the denial of the Sarawis people's right to self-determination forms part of the structural context in which human rights violations occur in the occupied territory. This year, the Committee on Torture also found violations of the Convention on Torture in the case of Sahrawi human rights defender Abdelmoula El Hafidi, holding that his detention conditions amounted to degrading treatment, and that Morocco had failed to ensure his right to complain and have those allegations promptly and impartially examined. El Hafidi was released in April after completing his 10-year sentence, but this did not end the violations. Since then, he and his family have faced intimidation and reprisals, despite the Committee expressly calling on Morocco to refrain from pressure, intimidation or reprisals against him. We call on Morocco and all States to fully and promptly implement the decisions of the Committee against Torture and other UN human rights mechanisms, investigate allegations of torture, provide effective remedies, and end all acts of intimidation and reprisal. We urge member states to ensure that the Saraoui people can exercise that inalienable right to self-determination, protect those who cooperate with the UN, and hold perpetrators accountable for ongoing human rights violations.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:13:53]:

I thank the petitioner. And before we move to the next petitioner, I would like to inform member states in the room that I have four more petitioners on the list. And after that, we will commence with the general debate. I would like now to hand the floor to the next petitioner, Tariq Sharif. You have the floor.


United States of America · Entrepreneur [2:14:20]:

Distinguished delegates, my name is Tariq Sharif. I am the first Sahrawi American. My father was born in the Western Sahara. I am now a successful entrepreneur. I co-founded the largest hip-hop festival in the world, Rolling Loud. But my mother raised me to never forget about my people. I grew up waiting for a referendum that was promised since 1992, visiting the refugee camps every chance that I got, praying my people would one day see freedom. Morocco's autonomy proposal spits in the face of the UN and the ICJ. On October 16, 1975, the ICJ ruled that there were no ties of territorial sovereignty between Morocco and the Western Sahara. Only days after Spain left and after this ruling, Morocco stole my father's land, acting like it was a land without a people. But it was never empty land belonging to no one. It belonged to the Sahrawi people. The Moroccan presence in Western Sahara is not a historical right. It began as an illegal military invasion that forced thousands of thousands of Sahrawis into refugee camps, and it remains an illegal occupation to this day. We have been waiting for the UN promised referendum. For over three decades, Morocco has obstructed the voter identification process to prevent that vote from happening. Now, through Resolution 2797, there is an attempt to rewrite history by pushing an autonomy plan as the only option, effectively trying to erase the word "referendum" from the UN and MINURSO's operational vocabulary. MINURSO was not sent to manage an endless occupation or to rubber-stamp a unilateral autonomy plan. It was sent to deliver a referendum. For 35 years, my family and my people have held on to a promise made by the international community. Replacing a democratic vote with a forced autonomy plan under the occupying power is a betrayal of that promise. The right to self-determination according to UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 belongs solely to the colonized people, not the occupying power. An autonomy plan that denies the option of independence is not self-determination, it is forced integration. International law dictates that the future of Western Sahara belongs to the Sahrawi people, not to diplomatic trade-offs in New York or Rabat. You cannot ask a people to vote on a future where their independence has already been stolen from the ballot. As a child of the Sahrawi diaspora, I stand here to tell you that our identity cannot be legislated away, and our right to be free will never be surrendered to an autonomy plan. Let my people vote. Free the Western Sahara. Stop stealing my people's land, resources, and freedom. And with the rest of my time, I'd like to say I've heard the Moroccan supporters do mental backflips, try to explain that everything that's happening right now is either the Polisario's fault or everything's great in Morocco. And all I got to say is you're ignoring the initial issue that you stole the land and you need to hold a vote for self-determination.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:17:21]:

Thank you. I would like now to hand the floor to the next petitioner, Hector Sanctorum Ruiz. You have the floor.


Petitioner [2:17:36]:

Okay.

I would like to begin by reminding you of the principles of this organization, because as I have understood it, it does have principles. In the Sahrawi case, where are these principles? Do the economic and political interests of certain countries weigh more you have perverted these guiding principles for your own interests. There is no peace, no security, no friendly relations based on the principle of equal rights for the Sahrawi people. There was no respect for their right to self-determination, no cooperation, and no centre to harmonize the efforts of nations towards those ends, not in the case of the Sahrawi people. And I ask myself, why? Why are they fueling the opinions of certain Sahrawi sectors close to the Moroccan arguments to try to put these opinions above the whole of the Sahrawi people. What is unacceptable is an attempt to impose their will above the sovereign will of the entire Sahrawi people. It's much easier to go to a referendum with guarantees, let each party say what the advantages and disadvantages of their model is, and let it be the Sahrawi people that sovereignly chooses its future, not any of you. What good is this theater to the population in question? What is the use of the, of talking about fictitious development as if that were an alternative and the Saharis wanted it, then they would have continued with Spain. How can you justify no investment between 1976 and 2017? From 2017 onwards, there has been talk of millions in investments, but what impact has that had on the Sahrawi people? They have built a road and turned it into a route for plunder. Even the reports of people who work in Moroccan institutions recognise this. All fisheries agreements that include Western Sahara are derisory when compared to other EU contracts. Why is that? Who will pay retroactively for this fish when there's no fish left? Who will pay for the phosphate and the sand? And above all, who will pay for these 50 years of uncertainty? Who will be responsible for these actions in the interests of states here present? France, the United States, Israel, Spain and Morocco. Let us say it openly, if the United Nations Charter doesn't apply for them, then we might as well tear it up and close the United Nations. They are imposing force over reason. And it is Western Sahara, not Moroccan Sahara.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:20:37]:

Thank the petitioner. And before passing on to the next petitioner, I would like once again to remind speakers that they are requested to refrain from discussing territories that are not among those 17 non-self-governing territories on the committee's agenda. And with this, I would like now to hand the floor to the next petitioner, Sadiq Chaki. You have the floor.


Petitioner [2:21:07]:

I would like to discuss about the inhumanity in the occupied part of the Western Sahara. The Sahrawi people, men, women, elderly, and children are subjected to marginalization and false um petitions and courtrooms um that make them being imprisoned for 10 years and more some of them are um exposed to insults and torture and hitting only because they call for freedom and good livelihood ladies and gentlemen the Sahrawi people are deprived from employment in government positions or to benefit from socioeconomic benefits even though they are uh righteous people they are the real owners of this land. My country has infinite natural resources and fisheries that can bring about millions of dollars every year without real infrastructure or real services that are reflected on the daily life of people. Ladies and gentlemen, the Moroccan occupation has trampled upon our ambitions. It led entire families and youth to migrate looking for justice, freedom, and good livelihood. We are looking for support. Some international parties have supported the autonomy plan without taking the consideration international law and the UN Charter. We, as Sahrawis, called for fact-finding missions to be sent to the Western Sahara to see firsthand the developments on the ground and a UN mission that includes also monitoring human rights. We call for freedom of the political activists and those Sahrawi people and all those who have been subjected to injustice in the world. Thank you.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:23:06]:

I thank the petitioner for his statement, and I would like to remind all speakers of the need for the quorum when making interventions. And with this, I would like now to hand the floor to the next petitioner, Mohamed Ahmed Khayem. You have the floor.


Morocco · University professor [2:23:25]:

Madam Chair, distinguished delegates, I am a Sahrawi university professor from the Moroccan Sahara. I speak today in front of this committee not from theory, not from slogans, but from lived experience. For three days, this distinguished Assembly has heard statements reflecting diverse viewpoints. However, there is a fundamental truth that must not be overlooked. All the Sahrawis who have taken the floor before this Committee, including the tiny minority advocating separatist views, were born, raised and educated in the Moroccan Sahara. Those among them who choose to settle abroad travel freely using their official Moroccan passports and regularly return to the Moroccan Sahara to visit their families, and no one of them was ever been questioned or harassed regarding the political stances they express here without fear of reprisal. This reality serves as an irrefutable proof of the progress achieved in the Moroccan Sahara regarding human rights, freedom of expression, and freedom of opinion. But the troubling question is, who is the great absentee from this room? It is the Sahrawis of the Tindouf camps. The Polisario is represented here by its leadership, repeating the same narrative heard for decades, while the ordinary camp population voice is suppressed by this leadership. This absence is not accidental, nor is it an allegation. It is the product of the Polisario's repressive machine, whose very founding texts ban pluralism, independent civil society, independent media, just submission to this armed group. And remarkably, instead of Sahrawis from the camps, we see Algerian citizens coming before you to defend the separatist project on their behalf. Whose project is this really? Isn't it a political project manufactured, sponsored, and controlled by the very neighboring destabilizing forces whose regional agenda has for decades deepened division and instability in the Maghreb? Madam Chair. We Sahrawis from the Moroccan Sahara, engineers, young parliamentarians and elected representatives, we stand against this villainous project for which Sahrawis have been treated as a fuel for a regional agenda designed by others. It is high time for those who rely on the Polisario to execute their treacherous and destabilizing agenda against Morocco to abandon the illusion that repetition can turn their myths into realities. Enough of this reckless squandering of resources and future of the people of Algeria. This is not worthy of Algeria, not worthy of the Algeria of dignity, the Algeria of Emir Abdelkader. Algeria has to assume its responsibility. It cannot insulate itself from the responsibility of creating this conflict, and they have to bring it to an end. Thank you, Madam Chair.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:26:22]:

I thank the petitioner. Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, we have heard the last petitioner. The Committee has thus concluded the hearings of petitioners. As decided yesterday, the Committee will now resume the general debate on the decolonization items 52 to 56. The live list of speakers is available in the UN Journal. The link to the live list is available in the UN Journal. Let me remind delegations that we agreed to a time limit of 10 minutes when speaking in a national capacity and 15 minutes when speaking on behalf of a group with an automatic cutoff. In order to facilitate the interpretation of statements, I would kindly remind speakers to speak at a reasonable pace and to send all statements in advance to e-statements@un.org. I also invite delegations with longer statements to read out an abbreviated version and to send the full statement to e-statements@un.org for posting in the UN Journal. And with this, I would like now to hand the floor to the first speaker on my list, to my distinguished colleague from Senegal. Sir, you have the floor.


Senegal [2:28:01]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the members of the Bureau for the confidence shown in them to lead the work of this important committee and wish them every success in carrying out this undertaking. Madam Chair, distinguished colleagues. Decolonization is a noble struggle for all colonized peoples and those that have known colonization, such as ours. That is why my delegation, ever faithful to the principles and ideals of the United Nations Charter, reaffirms its support for efforts to conclude all current decolonization processes. In this regard, we call for consensus-based solutions that are adapted to each territory and in accordance with the aspirations of the peoples of non-self-governing territories and the resolutions of the United Nations. In the pursuit of this noble goal, Senegal invites us to avoid opening the door to separatism, which is still strong in several parts of the world and which, like colonization, also undermines state sovereignty. Similarly, my delegation condemns and rejects all forms of occupation and annexation of territory, as is the case in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, in flagrant violation of international law. Madam Chair, the question of decolonization is certainly making slow progress, but there are reasons to remain hopeful. The question of Sahara has seen encouraging progress since the adoption of resolution 2797 of the Security Council, renewing the mandate of MINURSO and inviting a resumption of dialogue between regional actors under the good offices of the personal envoy of the Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura. Allow me to congratulate him for his tireless efforts and his determination to bring the parties together. As part of this positive momentum, I call upon parties to collaborate more closely with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the World Food Programme to ensure the best possible care for the fundamental rights of the population of the Tindouf camps, namely their freedom of expression and association, access to international humanitarian assistance that is sent to them, as well as a census in accordance with international humanitarian law and the recommendations of the United Nations Secretary-General. Madam Chair, my delegation reiterates its support for the Moroccan autonomy plan and remains convinced that it constitutes a credible option to bring an end to this regional dispute. This plan lays the groundwork for a realistic and lasting solution that can guarantee the prosperity of the region, the security and well-being of the populations of the Sahara, on the basis of sovereignty, integrity, and the continuity of the territory of the Kingdom of Morocco. Thank you.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:31:29]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Senegal, and I would like now to hand the floor to the distinguished representative of South Africa.


South Africa [2:31:41]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, we meet once again to take up long-standing, unresolved decolonization matters, decades on from the establishment of the C-24 in 1961. Despite the efforts of the United Nations, including through this committee and other mechanisms, we remain concerned that there has been limited progress on many of these matters. leaving in place the enduring and pernicious legacy of colonialism in all its manifestations. The continued existence of non-self-governing territories demonstrates that the promise of the 1960 Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples has yet to be fully realized, invoking concern that the promise would never be fulfilled. The Fourth Committee must therefore enable more effective action to advance genuine, inclusive and United Nations-sponsored processes of decolonization. Many delegations participating in the high-level debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly had reminded us that decolonization and the right of peoples to self-determination remain enduring principles of the United Nations Charter and the post-1945 international order. Several statements explicitly linked contemporary questions of sovereignty and territorial status to the unfinished decolonization agenda. These interventions sit alongside the United Nations' continuing formal recognition that 17 non-self-governing territories remain. Therefore, despite the historic expansion of self-government and independence, the organization's decolonization mandate remains an active, not merely historical, element of the General Assembly's work. It is vital that the purposes and principles of the UN Charter be advanced, such as contained in Article 1.2, emphasizing that friendly relations amongst nations are based on the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples. Therefore, the resolution of long-standing, seemingly perpetual grievances, if not addressed, will threaten the most fundamental purposes of the United Nations. South Africa's own history was shaped by colonialism, apartheid, and a long struggle for liberation. and we therefore understand that decolonization remains an unfinished international responsibility and an open wound harming the credibility and legitimacy of the international system. Petitioners from non-self-governing territories attend the C24 and this committee every year in the hope that administering powers will recognize the right to be free from a colonial past and create a path towards a path forward for peace and development in the interest of their peoples. We stand in solidarity with these petitioners in the hope that one day, like us, their colonial bindings will come to an end. Chair, with a backdrop of an ever more fraught and tense geopolitical environment, we are here to highlight the continued challenges relating to economic, political and social oppression. Judging by the limited progress achieved on many of the issues before us, it may seem that the status quo is likely to remain indefinitely. There is also evidence that changing geopolitical dynamics could make progress more difficult and that some of the gains achieved over previous decades could be reversed as countries become more inward-looking and prioritise national interests. How can the United Nations credibly speak of a rules-based international order while colonialism and the denial of self-determination persists? What, then, is the basis of our system of laws and rules, and who do they favour? The answer cannot be selective. The right to self-determination cannot depend on geography, political alliances, or the strategic interests of powerful states. International law either applies universally, or it ceases to provide the foundation for a just international order. Chair, South Africa remains particularly concerned about the unresolved question of Western Sahara. We reaffirm our solidarity with the Sahrawi people and their right to self-determination. South Africa supports renewed United Nations efforts towards a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution that enables the people of Western Sahara to determine their own future. This position is consistent with South Africa's longstanding approach in the Fourth Committee and its emphasis on self-determination. South Africa also reiterates that the principles underlying the decolonization agenda must be applied consistently. The international community cannot afford selective approaches to the right of peoples to determine their political status and future. The unfinished business of decolonization places a collective obligation upon member states and the United Nations system. We must strengthen the mechanisms established to assist non-self-governing territories, ensure that their voices are heard, and accelerate processes that lead to the full realization of their inalienable right to self-determination. Chairperson, South Africa believes that colonialism, in all its forms and manifestations, has no place in our contemporary international order. The 1960 Declaration must remain a living commitment, rather than a historical document. We therefore call upon this Committee to intensify its efforts to complete the work entrusted to it and to ensure that all peoples entitled to self-determination can exercise that right in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and international law. Thank you, Madam Chair.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:38:32]:

I thank the distinguished representative of South Africa, and I would like now to hand the floor to the distinguished representative of Panama.


Panama [2:38:44]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. As I'm taking the floor for the first time during this session, allow me to congratulate His Excellency Kolbe Sek and other members of the Bureau on their election and express the best wishes for the success of their work in the Fourth Committee, reiterating the full readiness of Panama to support your work. Panama aligns itself with the statements that will be made by Belize, Zambia, Bafika, Uganda, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, and Uruguay, on behalf of Mercosur and CELAC, G77, and China. Madam Chair, throughout the contemporary history, the process of decolonization has been closely linked to multilateralism. and to the purposes and principles of this Organization, enshrined in the UN Charter. Unfortunately, there are still territories whose political situation remains pending a definitive solution, which reminds us that decolonization continues to be an important responsibility and for Member States Panama reaffirms its commitment to the principles and trend in resolution 1514 of the General Assembly especially with regard to territorial integrity of states as well as the peaceful culmination of the process of decolonization with this in mind we recognize the important work of the decolonization committee and reiterate our support for its work madam chair panel would like to take take advantage of this important forum to reaffirm its firm and historic support for the brethren Republic of Argentina and its legitimate right to sovereignty and territorial integrity of Malvinas, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas. Decades have elapsed since the adoption of Resolution 2065, that recognizes the sovereignty dispute and urges the United Kingdom and the Republic of Argentina to resume negotiations. Panama reiterates its appeal to both parties to resume this process as soon as possible, with a view to achieve a peaceful and definitive solution. We consider it essential to preserve a climate that is conducive to dialogue and urge the parties to comply with the resolution 3149 and refrain from adopting decisions that could introduce unilateral modifications in the territory. This appeal for renewed negotiations was also voiced by Panama at the 56th General Conference of the Organization of American States that was held in Panama. Madam Chair, as far as the issue of Western Sahara, Panama reiterates its support for the efforts of the Kingdom of Morocco to achieve a peaceful, lasting, and mutually acceptable solution under the auspices of the United Nations. For this reason, we recognize the work of MINURSO, and we value the cooperation of Morocco with the mission. Its presence continues to be important for regional stability and to strengthen an environment that is conducive to a political process. Panama considers that the Moroccan autonomy initiative is a feasible basis to advance in the UN-led political process and takes note of an impetus given to negotiations through Resolution 2797 of the Security Council. We urge the parties to continue to participate, work constructively towards a definitive agreed solution in the framework of a United Nations-led process. Madam Chair, we consider it fundamental for the international community to maintain its focus on the issues of decolonization and the issues that remain on its agenda, and to preserve the momentum toward the commitments undertaken by this organization. Panama recognizes the work of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in this area and trusts that his successor will continue to contribute to these efforts through his good offices and other mechanisms of the United Nations. Panama will continue to support all efforts of the United Nations in the area of decolonization, convinced that dialogue, negotiation, and respect for international law must continue to guide our work until we achieve peaceful and lasting solutions. Thank you.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:43:18]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Panama, and I would like now to hand the floor to the distinguished representative of Guatemala, who so far is the last speaker on my list. You have the floor.


Guatemala [2:43:34]:

Madam Chair, Guatemala, I'd like to congratulate you and the other members of the Bureau on your election, and we can assure you of our support for the smooth functioning of this Committee. Decolonization is one of the fundamental commitments that is still pending of the United Nations. More than six decades after the adoption of 1514, Roman 15, the persistence of colonial situations reminds us that this task remains incomplete. Guatemala considers that decolonization is not merely a historic responsibility, but also a commitment to a peaceful resolution of disputes and commitment to the principles enshrined in the UN Charter and in the Declaration on Granting of Independence to Colonial Peoples and Nations. While Guatemala recognizes the important progress achieved by this organization in favor of the elimination of colonialism, we consider that this process has not yet been completed. Madam Chair, Guatemala reiterates its historical support for the legitimate rights of the Republic of Argentina in the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas, South Georgia, and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas. Guatemala recognizes that the Republic of Argentina has expressed its readiness to resume negotiations in line with the mandate of this organization for the purpose of moving towards a solution of the dispute. Over six decades have passed since the adoption of Resolution 2065 of the General Assembly, the first resolution that specifically referred to the issue of the Malvinas. Its appeal was reiterated through successive resolutions of the General Assembly and the Special Decolonization Committee. Guatemala considers it essential for the Republic of Argentina and the United Kingdom to resume negotiations in good faith to achieve a just, peaceful, definitive, and mutually acceptable solution in conformity with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations. Likewise, Guatemala considers it important to continue promoting multilateralism and, in particular, mechanisms of international law for the peaceful resolution of disputes. Dialogue and negotiation continue to be fundamental instruments to address this still pending colonial situation in the American continent, as well as other decolonization processes. With this in mind, Guatemala considers it essential for the Secretary General to continue with his good offices mission in conformity with the mandate of the General Assembly and the subsequent resolutions of the Special Decolonization Committee. Madam Chair, with regard to the issue of Western Sahara, Guatemala reaffirms its support for the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco. And we consider that the autonomy plan presented by Morocco in 2007 is a realistic, credible, and serious basis to achieve a definitive solution between the parties. Guatemala is grateful and expresses its full support for the efforts of the Secretary General of the United Nations. and his personal envoy to facilitate the political process and advance towards a peaceful, lasting, and mutually acceptable solution. Likewise, Guatemala recognizes the work of MINURSO in preserving the stability in the ceasefire as well as to reduce the threat represented by anti-personnel mines and various unexploded explosive devices. Guatemala urges the continued support for the mission for it to fulfill its mandate. Guatemala also recognizes the measures adopted by the Kingdom of Morocco to promote the socio-economic development of Western Sahara through infrastructure projects, investments, and community programs geared towards improving the quality of life of the population. Guatemala supported resolutions adopted by this General Assembly and Security Council on this topic, aimed at political realistic compromise-based solution. Guatemala in particular welcomes resolution 2797 of 2025 of the Security Council. Guatemala considers that a peaceful resolution of this matter is not only necessary for the population of Western Sahara, but also for the stability, security, and the integration of the Maghreb. Madam Chair, to conclude, Guatemala reaffirms the importance of continuing to advance in the process of decolonization that are still pending and to preserve the political will and the necessary diplomatic commitment to achieve solutions through diplomatic means. Guatemala considers that multilateralism, dialogue, negotiation, and the mechanisms of international law continue to be fundamental instruments to address these in conformity with the UN Charter and the relevant resolutions of this organization. As long as colonial situations that are pending still persist, decolonization will continue to be a relevant task for the United Nations. Thank you very much.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:48:53]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Guatemala. And we have now heard the last speaker in the debate on the decolonization items for today. I would like now to inform that the exercise of the right of reply has been requested. Delegations are reminded of the maximum of two interventions, with the first intervention limited to five minutes and the second to three minutes. I call now on the representative of the United Kingdom. You have the floor.


United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [2:49:33]:

Thank you, Chair. I would like to exercise the right of reply and respond briefly to the statements of the distinguished representatives from Panama and Guatemala. As this committee has already heard during this session, the United Kingdom has no doubt over its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas of both territories. The UK is steadfast in its support for the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination, which is enshrined in the UN Charter and article 1 of the two UN covenants on human rights. The Falkland Islanders have as much right as any other peoples to determine their political status and to freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. The Falkland Islands has a diverse and growing population of more than 60 nationalities, an active and proud democratic community.

And a healthy economy.

The islanders have made clear their overwhelming wish for the Falkland Islands to remain a self-governing territory of the United Kingdom, including in the 2013 referendum, which was supervised by independent observers. I re-emphasise, therefore, that there can be no dialogue on sovereignty unless the Falkland islanders so wish.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:50:52]:

I thank the member. I now hand the floor to the distinguished representative of Argentina.


Argentina [2:51:03]:

Thank you, Madam Chair. In response to what was stated by the representative of the United Kingdom on the Malvinas Islands, I want to recall that Malvinas, South Georgia, and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas are an integral part of the national territory of Argentina. and they are illegally occupied by the United Kingdom or the subject of a sovereignty dispute between the two countries recognized by the United Nations and other international organizations. Madam Chair, the General Assembly in its resolution 2065 recognized the existence of a sovereignty dispute and urges the governments of the Republic of Argentina and the United Kingdom to resume negotiations in order to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the dispute as a way of decolonizing the territory. The Special Decolonization Committee has made its position known many times, last time in June of this year. The principle of free determination is not applicable to the question of the Malvinas. The United Nations have characterized this matter as a special and particular case of decolonization. the solution of which requires negotiations between two states that are parties to the dispute, taking duly into account the interests of the inhabitants of the islands. Resolution 2065 specifically refers to the interests of the population, while resolution 1514 establishes that free determination cannot be used to undermine partially or fully the territorial integrity of a state. Free determination cannot be used to convert a population established by an occupying power into a judge of sovereignty and to validate a situation that was originated by an act of force. The Republic of Argentina reiterates that the vote or referendum that took place in 2013 in the Malvinas mentioned by the delegate of the United Kingdom was conducted without the intervention of the General Assembly or the Special Decolonization Committee, and no State or international organization sent official representatives as observers. That vote is a simple unilateral British act without any British value and in no way alters the question of the Malvinas and does not put an end to the sovereignty dispute or affects the legitimate rights of Argentina. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.


4th Committee · Vice-Chair [2:53:40]:

I thank the distinguished representative of Argentina. I see no other requests for rights of reply. Therefore, I would like to inform you that the committee will meet again tomorrow, Friday, 9th October, at 3 p.m. in the same conference room to continue the general debate on decolonization items. The meeting is adjourned.