UN Conference Addresses Western Sahara Self-Determination, Humanitarian Needs
On October 28, 2026, a high-level conference was held at Conference Room 7 within the United Nations headquarters in New York. Titled "Self-determination, Humanitarian Responsibility and the Future of the People of Western Sahara," the event gathered diplomats, representatives from international humanitarian organizations, international community and civil society activists, alongside representatives of the Sahrawi people. Algeria's Permanent Mission to the UN co-sponsored this conference, alongside the permanent missions of Belize, Namibia, South Africa, East Timor, and Uganda, in partnership with several international organizations.
The participants emphasized that Western Sahara remains an uncompleted decolonization issue under international law, fifty years after the founding of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Despite decades of UN engagement and the establishment of MINURSO in 1991, the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination, guaranteed by UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV), continues to be unexercised due to persistent political deadlock. The conference also highlighted the critical humanitarian conditions within five Sahrawi refugee camps, where approximately 173,000 refugees face severe challenges including acute water scarcity, food insecurity, malnutrition, and a significant reduction in international humanitarian aid funding.
Notable interventions were made by diplomatic and political figures, including Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, the Polisario Front Representative to the United Nations, and Ambassador Amar Bendjama, Algeria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. They reviewed the political and legal conditions necessary to resolve the current impasse in the Western Sahara file. In conclusion, the attendees called for enhanced humanitarian support, strict adherence to international legitimacy, and the empowerment of the Sahrawi people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and to determine their future with freedom and sovereignty.
