Benjemaa: Algeria continues to relentlessly defend the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination – Al-Hiwar Al-Jazaeryia

Algeria’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations in New York, Ammar Ben Djemaa, said that Algeria will continue to “relentlessly defend” the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, recalling the legal nature of the Western Sahara conflict as a matter of decolonization.
This coincided with the inclusion of the Western Sahara issue in the agenda of the session of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, known as the 24th Special Committee, which is being held in New York from the twelfth to the twenty-third of June.
On this occasion, the Algerian diplomat affirmed the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination by many representatives of countries and international organizations who came from all over the world.
In his intervention during the session, Ben Jameh stated, “Today, the committee witnessed positions expressed by many delegations in support of the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination.”
In this regard, the Algerian ambassador stated, “Algeria joins its position with those of these delegations and renews its unwavering commitment to relentlessly defend the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination.”
On the other hand, the diplomat stressed that the Committee of 24 “is not only special through its exclusive designation at the level of the United Nations, but also through the accuracy of its mission, which aims to impose respect for one of the goals enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, which is respect for the principle of equal rights of peoples and their right to self-determination. her fate.”
The same official indicated that among the 17 regions included in the agenda of the Committee of 24, Western Sahara, Africa’s last colony, since 1963, remains awaiting the full implementation of Regulation No. All the regulations ratified by the UN General Assembly on this issue, affirming the inalienable right of the Saharawi people and calling for its implementation through the organization of a free and fair referendum in accordance with Resolutions 1514 and 1541 of the UN General Assembly.

No fait accompli will have legal effect without consulting the Sahrawi people

The Permanent Representative of Algeria in New York focused on the legal nature of the conflict in Western Sahara, such as the issue of decolonization, adding that “it has been repeatedly emphasized in the relevant United Nations resolutions, all of which upheld the legitimate right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination.”
Benam Jameh referred to the 1975 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which concluded without any ambiguity that there was no legal link of any kind between Western Sahara and Morocco that would affect the implementation of Resolution 1514.
He explained that “the International Court of Justice has expressly confirmed the imprescriptible right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination through the free expression of their will.”
Ben Jameh said that the late King Hassan II had confirmed in 1988 “his support for a just and final solution to the Western Sahara conflict through a free and fair referendum for self-determination that takes place in full transparency and without any pressure.”
Ambassador Ben Jomaa supported his speech on the issue of the international community, with what has been accomplished since the Security Council formed the UN mission to organize the referendum in Western Sahara, noting in this regard that “it is the responsibility of the Committee of 24 to make a decisive contribution in order to advance the path of decolonization.” For the benefit of the Saharawi people and to enable them to freely determine their own destiny.
The ambassador concluded his statement by affirming that no fait accompli, nor any unilateral statement or act, will have a legal effect without consulting the Saharawi people.
Addressing the Moroccan delegation, Ambassador Ben Jomaa asked: “If things are fine in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, why are their people not consulted in the framework of a free and regular referendum and without any pressure?”