Sahrawi Photo Exhibition Opens at UN, Backed by Algeria

An exhibition titled "50 years, 50 faces, Sahrawi exile a life of resilience" opened at the United Nations headquarters in New York on October 27, 2026. The event, organized by Oxfam's New York office, was co-sponsored by the permanent missions of Algeria, Belize, Namibia, South Africa, Timor-Leste, and Uganda. The exhibition features 50 photographs by Sahrawi photographer Adad Ami, illustrating the resilience, suffering, and aspirations of Sahrawi men, women, and youth, and aims to highlight the human realities of their long-term refugee status and the broader political situation.

During the opening ceremony, speakers, including Ambassador Sidi Mohamed Omar, the Polisario Front's representative to the UN, emphasized the exhibition's importance in drawing attention to the Sahrawi people's reality. They collectively asserted that the Sahrawi people's suffering is a direct consequence of Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara and the denial of their right to self-determination. In his address, Dr. Omar also condemned attempts by Morocco's Permanent Mission to prevent the exhibition from taking place at the UN, actions which ultimately failed.

Ambassador Sidi Mohamed Omar, addressing the attendees, firmly stated that the Sahrawi people "were and will always remain a free and sovereign nation on their homeland." He underscored their refusal to be silenced and forgotten, particularly as the event coincided with UN Security Council deliberations on Western Sahara. Speakers at the exhibition called upon the United Nations to uphold its responsibilities towards the Sahrawi people and enable their free and democratic exercise of self-determination.