Open Letter to the United Nations, the United Nations Security Council, the United States of America, and the International Community

From: The Sahrawi People
Subject: Rejection of the American Draft Resolution on Western Sahara and a Call to Protect Human Rights

To the Members of the United Nations Security Council,
To the Government of the United States of America,
To all those who believe in justice and the right of peoples to self-determination,

We write to you today on behalf of a people who have endured immense suffering under Moroccan occupation, on behalf of thousands of Sahrawi families displaced by oppression and violence, and on behalf of those who remain in prisons or have disappeared simply for speaking the word “freedom.”

We, the sons and daughters of Western Sahara, strongly condemn the American draft resolution submitted to the Security Council, which attempts to impose the so-called “Moroccan autonomy plan” as a solution to the conflict.
This proposal does not represent a just or lasting solution; rather, it constitutes the consolidation of occupation and a violation of the United Nations resolutions that affirm our people’s right to self-determination through a free and fair referendum.

The United States, which presents itself as a defender of democracy and human rights, must first look closely at the grim reality inside the occupied territories of Western Sahara, where anyone who raises their voice is arrested, kidnapped, or killed, and where international human rights organizations are forbidden from entering the region.
The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) remains the only UN mission in the world without a mandate to monitor human rights, leaving thousands of Sahrawis without protection or voice.

The occupied Sahrawi cities have become spaces of fear, deprivation, and repression.
Young people are denied employment, students are expelled from universities, and activists are prosecuted on fabricated charges or forced into exile, while Moroccan authorities flood the territory with settlers in clear violation of international law.

We say it clearly and without ambiguity:
There can be no talk of “autonomy” under a regime that does not respect democracy within its own borders and imprisons its own citizens merely for demanding healthcare and education.
How can such a regime be entrusted with determining the fate of another people?

What some powerful nations are promoting is not driven by love for Morocco, but by political and economic interests, even at the expense of justice and human dignity.
Yet nations cannot be bought, and dignity cannot be granted from above—it is earned through struggle and upheld by the courage of free people.

Today, in a historic moment, the Sahrawi people took to the streets in the Camps of Dignity and Pride, in peaceful mass demonstrations addressing a clear message to the United States of America and the United Nations Security Council:

“No to autonomy in Western Sahara.”
Our people will not accept a fate imposed upon them, nor will they surrender their legitimate right to choose.
There is a third option that must be respected — the free and fair referendum through which the Sahrawi people can decide between integration or independence, as stipulated by UN resolutions for decades.

Accordingly, we call upon you to:
1. Reject the current American draft resolution, which takes the side of the occupying power and ignores the essence of the issue — the right to self-determination through a referendum.
2. Include human rights monitoring within MINURSO’s mandate immediately and permanently.
3. Allow international human rights organizations and independent media to access the region and observe the situation firsthand.
4. Pressure Morocco to release all Sahrawi political prisoners and end its policies of repression, deprivation, and discrimination.
5. Return to the legitimate UN peace process, based on respect for the Sahrawi people’s will, in line with United Nations and African Union resolutions.

In conclusion,
We firmly believe that justice will prevail, no matter how long it takes, and that the voice of truth will overcome all attempts at silencing and distortion.
To all those who seek to erase our cause, we say:
The Sahrawi people were born from the heart of the desert, and they will accept nothing less than to live free, dignified, and sovereign over their land and their resources.

For and on behalf of the Sahrawi People
In the Camps of Dignity and Pride
Dated: October 27, 2025