United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed his hope for the swift resumption of serious negotiations between the parties involved in the Western Sahara conflict. This announcement follows a meeting between Guterres and Brahim Ghali, the President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), on the sidelines of the 7th African Union-European Union Summit in Luanda, Angola.
Guterres stated that his Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, intends to engage with all parties in the dispute. He voiced his aspiration that de Mistura’s efforts will pave the way for the immediate commencement of earnest negotiations, without preconditions, aligning with the resolutions of the Security Council. Guterres also acknowledged the in-depth discussions held regarding the recent Security Council resolution and the positions articulated during the meeting.
According to the Sahrawi news agency, WASS, President Ghali conveyed the Sahrawi side’s appreciation for the Secretary-General’s commitment to achieving peace and justice globally, particularly in Africa. He emphasized that the Western Sahara issue, the last remaining case of decolonization in Africa on the agenda of the General Assembly and its relevant committees, awaits resolution through the Sahrawi people exercising their inalienable right to self-determination.
During the meeting, President Ghali addressed the recent Security Council resolution 2797 and clarified several concerns raised by the draft resolution. He specifically mentioned attempts by certain parties to alter the nature of the issue, which has been registered with the United Nations as a decolonization matter since 1963. Ghali asserted that such attempts would neither resolve the conflict nor serve the cause of peace, security, and stability in North Africa.
Ghali reaffirmed the Sahrawi side’s cooperation with the Secretary-General and the United Nations to enable the Sahrawi people to exercise their unshakeable right to self-determination, stating that it is “an exclusive right of the Sahrawi people, and no one can replace them.” He reiterated the Polisario Front’s readiness to engage in serious and sincere negotiations, without preconditions, under the auspices of the United Nations. The goal is to create conditions that will allow the Sahrawi people to freely make sovereign decisions about their future, in accordance with United Nations resolutions and the principles of international legality.
The meeting was also attended by Mohamed Salem Ould Salek, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and African Affairs of the SADR, and Hamdi Khalil Mayara, the Sahrawi Ambassador to Angola and Namibia, as well as a presidential advisor.
