UN General Assembly Hears Algeria Affirm Sahrawi Self-Determination

During the 39th general discussion of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, Algeria firmly asserted that the Western Sahara issue remains a matter of decolonization. Ambassador Mehdi Litim, Algeria's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, underscored the UN's ongoing legal and political responsibility to enable the Sahrawi people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination. He stressed that any biased approach or hasty solutions risk undermining peaceful settlement efforts and frustrating international endeavors to end the conflict.

Algeria highlighted the recent Russian veto on October 30, which blocked a US draft resolution concerning Western Sahara, describing it as a "blessing." The Algerian diplomat explained that the veto prevented an "explicit and dangerous deviation" from established standards for resolving the Western Sahara conflict, thus safeguarding the UN's collective security framework and its decolonization doctrine. The original mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) was established within a settlement plan, agreed upon concurrently with a ceasefire, specifically to organize a self-determination referendum for the Sahrawi people.

The Algerian position emphasized that the failure to extend MINURSO's mandate does not nullify the Sahrawi people's fundamental right to self-determination, nor does it absolve the Security Council of its responsibilities. Algeria warned against attempts to ignore decolonization and establish a "fait accompli" policy, cautioning that "predetermined outcomes, hasty approaches, or quick-fix methods" are recipes for failure. The nation cited UN Secretary-General António Guterres's November 1 statement, which affirmed that MINURSO was created to serve the Sahrawi people and enable their right to self-determination, and that the mission's departure does not abolish these inalienable rights.

Algeria unequivocally rejected any compromises or colonial impositions, reiterating its commitment to diplomacy guided by the UN Charter, international law, and relevant Security Council resolutions on Western Sahara. It affirmed that it would not participate in any initiative deviating from the UN's decolonization doctrine or established political process standards, which aim to achieve a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable solution guaranteeing the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination.