The Fourth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on Western Sahara on Thursday, reaffirming the legal framework of the issue as a matter of decolonization, as well as the United Nations’ responsibility towards the Sahrawi people and their right to self-determination and independence.
The resolution was adopted during discussions on the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, as part of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.
The resolution received the support of 152 countries. The United States and the Israeli occupation voted against it, while seven countries abstained: Burundi, Cameroon, France, Honduras, Liberia, Maldives and the United Kingdom.
The committee took note of the UN Secretary-General’s report dated July 31, 2026, which noted that both the Fourth Committee and the Special Committee on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples had addressed Western Sahara as a decolonization issue.
The resolution also recalled previous General Assembly and Security Council resolutions on the territory, including Security Council Resolution 690, adopted on April 29, 1991, which established the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
The committee reaffirmed the right of all peoples to self-determination and independence, in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter and General Assembly Resolution 1514 of December 14, 1960, which contains the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
The Fourth Committee called on the Special Committee on Decolonization, known as the Committee of 24, to continue examining the question of Western Sahara as a territory undergoing decolonization and to submit a report on the matter to the General Assembly at its 82nd session. It also called on the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of the resolution during the next session.
Polisario: Resolution Reaffirms the Legal Framework of the Issue
Commenting on the resolution, Sidi Mohamed Ammar, the Polisario Front’s representative to the United Nations and coordinator with MINURSO, said the Fourth Committee’s resolution reaffirmed that Western Sahara is a decolonization issue and upheld the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence.
The Sahrawi official considered the reaffirmation of this legal framework a response to what he described as efforts by the Moroccan occupation to alter the legal nature of the issue. He also criticized the positions of countries supporting the Moroccan proposal for settling the dispute.
The resolution comes amid the continued consideration of Western Sahara within the United Nations’ decolonization process, alongside UN efforts to reach a political settlement to the conflict.
Sources: United Nations; Sahara Press Service (SPS).
