Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Ministry of Information, Press Release, Bir Lehlou, 10 December

The Government of the Sahrawi Republic and the Frente POLISARIO condemn in the
strongest possible terms the decision taken by the outgoing US President Donald Trump to
recognise that which Morocco does not possess, namely “sovereignty over Western Sahara”.
The position announced by Trump constitutes a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United
Nations and its resolutions and the precepts of international legality. It hampers the efforts of
the international community to find a peaceful solution to the conflict between the Sahrawi
Republic and the Kingdom of Morocco. It also comes in the wake of the rupture by the
Moroccan occupying state of the ceasefire as a result of its blatant aggression on 13
November 2020.
The position is also an infringement upon the African Union (AU) and its Constitutive Act
and decisions, the most recent of which was the decision of the 14th AU Extraordinary
Summit on Silencing the Guns that emphasised the need for a just and peaceful solution
between the two AU Member States.
Trump’s decision will have no effect whatsoever on the legal nature of the question of
Western Sahara because the international community does not recognise Morocco’s
sovereignty over the Territory. The Sahrawi people are the exclusive owner of sovereignty
over Western Sahara.
We note with surprise that Trump’s decision coincided with the commemoration of the
Human Rights Day on 10 December. It also takes place a few days before the 60th
anniversary of the UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) on “Declaration on the
Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples”, and therefore it constitutes a
flagrant violation of one of the most sacred rights, namely peoples’ right to selfdetermination.
The Government of the Sahrawi Republic and the Frente POLISARIO call upon the United
Nations and the African Union to condemn this reckless decision and to exert pressure on the
Kingdom of Morocco to end its illegal occupation of Western Sahara.
The Sahrawi people will continue their legitimate struggle by all means to defend their
sovereignty and will make all necessary sacrifices to that end.
Bir Lehlou, 10 December 2020.