DILI, 11 June 2025 (TATOLI) – In its statement during the Special Committee on Decolonization’s (C24) consideration of the Question of Western Sahara, Timor-Leste expressed its firm and principled support for the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination—a right enshrined in the UN Charter and reaffirmed in multiple UN resolutions.
The statement was made during the Special Committee on Decolonization’s (C24) session in New York on Tuesday, 10 June 2025.
“The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) reiterates the international community’s commitment to a negotiated, just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution,” Permanent Mission of Timor-Leste to the United Nations in New York said in a statement. “Yet, the Sahrawi people continue to be denied the opportunity to exercise it, and Morocco’s continued occupation obstructs the path toward a legitimate referendum,” read the statement.
Timor-Leste’s own experience affirms that genuine self-determination is a moral imperative that must be upheld by the international community without selectivity or delay.
Timor-Leste expressed concern that economic interests have complicated the political process and contributed to the perpetuation of the status quo. Resources must be protected under international law and utilized in a manner that benefits the people of Western Sahara.
Timor-Leste called for renewed international engagement to facilitate direct, meaningful, and inclusive negotiations leading to a genuine and freely held referendum, reflecting the true aspirations of the Sahrawi people. “Human rights violations in the occupied territory must be independently monitored and addressed, and humanitarian assistance to Sahrawi refugees must be maintained and expanded,” said in the statement.
Timor-Leste is guided by the belief that no people should be denied the right to determine their future. It called for recommitment to ensuring that justice, dignity, and self-determination are not denied to the Sahrawi people for another generation.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
