Mohamed Sidi Omar, representative of the Polisario Front at the UN, affirms that the Sahrawi people reserve the right to prosecute those who allow themselves to plunder their wealth.
Interview conducted by Samira Chami
The Polisario Front welcomed the recent judgments of the European Court of Justice. What are the economic and political aspects of this judgment?
In fact, the Polisario Front welcomed the verdict of the European Court of Justice because it represents a great victory for the Sahrawi people and their just cause. Also, the judgment of the ECJ confirms and consolidates the legal arsenal which frames the Sahrawi cause based essentially on the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination in accordance with the principles of international law, first and foremost the Charter of the United Nations and its doctrine relating to decolonization.
This verdict, as we have already said, came to confirm and consolidate the international legal arsenal governing the Sahrawi cause in its capacity as a question of decolonization. Thus, this judgment is a great victory for the Sahrawi people which will, without a doubt, have political, legal and economic implications.
What will be the next steps envisaged to prohibit the looting of other Sahrawi wealth?
As we all know, this is a final judgment of the highest legal body of the European Union. Therefore, it is a binding text for all member states of the Organization. From now on, EU countries are obliged to comply with this judgment, particularly with regard to their agreements, transactions and exchanges with the Moroccan state of occupation, which may affect products coming from the territory. Sahrawi national.
Can this verdict strengthen its position at the level of the UN Security Council?
In fact, as I have already said, this verdict has consolidated and confirmed the legal arsenal governing the Sahrawi cause which is based on the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence in accordance with the Charter of Nations. united, the General Assembly and the Security Council concerning the Sahrawi question and reaffirming the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and supporting previous judgments attesting that Western Sahara is a separate and distinct territory in relation to the State of Moroccan occupation.
All these principles are enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and its decisions, in particular decision 2625 of the UN General Assembly in 1970. The legal argument of the CJEU verdict is based on all the decisions of the UN bodies including that of the International Court of Justice (ICC) of 1975 which enshrined the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and proved that neither the Moroccan occupying state or any other state has sovereignty over the territory of Western Sahara. Thus, this judgment will, without a doubt, be an added value which further consolidates this legal arsenal framing and protecting the Sahrawi question in its legal and political dimension at the level of the United Nations and its associated organizations.
Recently, you received the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General in the refugee camps. What was the Sahrawi position expressed during this visit which took place in anticipation of its next briefing with the Security Council?
The Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Western Sahara, Staffan De Mistura, visited the Sahrawi side on Thursday 3 of the current month. He met members of the national leadership and had the opportunity to visit the Sahrawi state services. He then met local, regional and national elected officials in addition to women’s and youth organizations. The visit ended with the official meeting which brought him together with the President of the Sahrawi Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali. The position transmitted by the Sahrawi side to the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General is summarized in the following points:
First, the insistence on the international nature of the Sahrawi question in its capacity as a question of decolonization included in the agenda of the United Nations and its associated organizations, whether at the level of the General Assembly or of the 4th Committee responsible for special political issues and decolonization and the application of the granting of independence to occupied countries. This is a strong affirmation on the international nature of the Sahrawi question and on the international framework in which the solution must be in the sense that any solution to this question can only fully respect the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence.
Secondly, that the Sahrawi side is ready to continue its support for the efforts of the United Nations and the African Union to find a peaceful, just and lasting solution to the ongoing conflict between two member states of the African Union, in this case the Republic Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and the occupation state. But on the basis of full respect for the Constituent Charter of the African Union and the decisions of the United Nations and the African Union in relation to this issue.
Thirdly, that the Sahrawi people, at a time when they are extending their hand for a just and lasting peace to contribute to reestablishing peace and stability in our region which is North Africa, affirm at the same time that they are clinging relentlessly to its rights to self-determination and independence and that it is ready to continue its struggle by all legitimate means, including armed struggle, to achieve its inalienable objectives of freedom, independence and establishing its sovereignty throughout the territories of the Sahrawi Republic.
What are your aspirations for the next Security Council meeting?
In fact, the Security Council will hold a closed consultation session on the 16th of this month, under the Swiss presidency, to listen to two presentations. The 1st by the Special Envoy, Staffan De Mistura, on the results of his efforts and his contacts with the two parties to the conflict. Then another presentation by the personal representative of the Secretary General for Western Sahara and president of MINURSO, the United Nations mission for the organization of a referendum in Western Sahara.
These consultations are organized as part of the presentation of the planned discussion on the report of the UN Secretary-General. This discussion will revolve around the draft resolution to be presented by the United States of America as penholder at Council level with regard to Minurso.
Are you optimistic about the next Council resolution?
For several considerations, we do not expect any new developments regarding the Security Council decision text. It is very likely that the United States will propose a technical extension of MINURSO’s mandate for a period of one year, as requested by the UN Secretary-General in the first copy of his report presented to the Security Council.
However, I would like to emphasize that whatever resolution text is adopted by the Security Council, whatever international developments, ongoing events and conflicts across the world, the stable element in the conflict equation is the Sahrawi people.
This people said it forcefully and transmitted their message to the world affirming that they are not going to war but a people who want peace and, at the same time, they remain attached, with force, to its rights and to defend them by all legitimate means including armed struggle to achieve its national objectives and aspirations for freedom and independence and the establishment of its sovereignty over the entire territory of the SADR.
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