Polisario Front Seeks UN Seat to Advocate for Western Sahara Referendum

"The Sahrawi state claims its seat at the United Nations since Morocco continues to erect obstacles to the holding of a self-determination referendum," proclaimed Mohamed Ould Salek during a press conference in Algiers. The Polisario does not attend Security Council meetings and only addresses the UN Secretary-General through a member state to transmit its letters and observations. To solve this difficulty, it wants to have a seat in the UN General Assembly.

This media outing is part of the communication campaign launched by the Front a few days before the examination of the Sahara issue at the Security Council, scheduled for April 21.

Its representatives in Algiers and New York have already multiplied press statements, stigmatizing the passivity of the United Nations to organize a referendum in the Sahara. In January 2000, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had put an end to the Identification Commission of eligible voters to participate in the referendum.