Let the Sahrawi people decide on their future
Let the Sahrawi people decide on their future
The Issue
URGENT APPEAL:
An Open Letter to the Conscience of the World: On Western Sahara, Autonomy, and the Betrayal of Self-Determination
To World Leaders, International Organizations, and All Upholders of Justice,
We write to you today with a profound sense of urgency and disappointment, regarding the continued suffering of the people of Western Sahara and the dangerous legitimization of their occupation. The recent support by the United States government for Morocco’s proposed “autonomy” plan is not a solution; it is a ratification of a grave injustice and a stark departure from the principles of international law and human rights.
For nearly five decades, the Sahrawi people have been waiting for the world to fulfill a promise made by the United Nations and the International Court of Justice (ICJ): the right to a free and fair referendum on self-determination. Instead, they have been met with military occupation, fragmentation of their land by a 2,700-kilometer militarized berm, and the systematic exploitation of their natural resources.
The so-called “autonomy” plan, now being falsely packaged as a pragmatic solution, is not a compromise. It is the final tool of an occupying power designed to extinguish the last embers of a people’s legitimate aspiration for freedom. We must see this proposal for what it truly is.
First, an occupying power cannot be the guarantor of rights and autonomy.
How can a state that has consistently and violently suppressed the most basic human rights of a population suddenly be trusted with their autonomy? For decades, documented reports by international human rights organizations have detailed:
· The suppression of peaceful protest.
· Arbitrary arrests and unfair trials.
· The torture and disappearance of activists.
· A climate of intense surveillance and censorship.
The very entity that builds walls and plants landmines to control a population is structurally incapable of granting them genuine self-rule. To believe otherwise is to ignore a brutal and well-documented reality. Autonomy under the boot of an occupier is not freedom; it is a more sophisticated form of control.
Second, the plan is a deliberate deception to circumvent international law.
The core of the conflict is the principle of self-determination. The ICJ’s 1975 advisory opinion was unequivocal: there were no ties of territorial sovereignty between Western Sahara and Morocco at the time of Spanish colonization. Therefore, the fate of the territory must be decided by its indigenous people, the Sahrawis.
The autonomy plan cleverly sidesteps this fundamental issue. It asks: “How should you be governed under Moroccan sovereignty?” This is the wrong question, imposed by the stronger party. The correct, legal, and moral question remains: “Do you wish to be independent, or integrated into Morocco?”
By supporting the autonomy plan, the US government is not promoting peace; it is rewarding aggression and encouraging other nations to ignore international law in favor of fait accompli policies. It tells the world that sovereignty can be won through invasion and maintained through repression, as long as you have powerful allies.
Third, the people of Western Sahara have already spoken through their legitimate representative.
The Polisario Front, recognized by the UN as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, has consistently called for the referendum. They agreed to a ceasefire in 1991 based on that promise. When Morocco blocked the referendum and later violated the ceasefire in 2020, it confirmed its rejection of a peaceful, UN-backed solution. The autonomy plan is the antithesis of what the Sahrawi people have fought and waited for.
Our Appeal:
We call on the United States government to reverse its misguided position and return to the bedrock principle that has guided decolonization for generations: the inalienable right of all peoples to determine their own political future.
We call on the United Nations to exert all necessary pressure to resume the peace process with a single goal: the implementation of the long-promised referendum on self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, without preconditions and including independence as a valid option.
We call on the international community to not be fooled by the facade of autonomy. Do not lend credibility to a plan that seeks to whitewash a military occupation and the plunder of a nation’s resources—from phosphates to fisheries.
The world must not be complicit in forcing the Sahrawi people to surrender their identity, their territory, and their future. The path to peace is not through imposing a fraudulent autonomy under an occupier, but through upholding justice and allowing the Sahrawi people their long-denied right to choose.
Their freedom is not negotiable.
In solidarity,
Karama Sahara
Please add your organization
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The Issue
URGENT APPEAL:
An Open Letter to the Conscience of the World: On Western Sahara, Autonomy, and the Betrayal of Self-Determination
To World Leaders, International Organizations, and All Upholders of Justice,
We write to you today with a profound sense of urgency and disappointment, regarding the continued suffering of the people of Western Sahara and the dangerous legitimization of their occupation. The recent support by the United States government for Morocco’s proposed “autonomy” plan is not a solution; it is a ratification of a grave injustice and a stark departure from the principles of international law and human rights.
For nearly five decades, the Sahrawi people have been waiting for the world to fulfill a promise made by the United Nations and the International Court of Justice (ICJ): the right to a free and fair referendum on self-determination. Instead, they have been met with military occupation, fragmentation of their land by a 2,700-kilometer militarized berm, and the systematic exploitation of their natural resources.
The so-called “autonomy” plan, now being falsely packaged as a pragmatic solution, is not a compromise. It is the final tool of an occupying power designed to extinguish the last embers of a people’s legitimate aspiration for freedom. We must see this proposal for what it truly is.
First, an occupying power cannot be the guarantor of rights and autonomy.
How can a state that has consistently and violently suppressed the most basic human rights of a population suddenly be trusted with their autonomy? For decades, documented reports by international human rights organizations have detailed:
· The suppression of peaceful protest.
· Arbitrary arrests and unfair trials.
· The torture and disappearance of activists.
· A climate of intense surveillance and censorship.
The very entity that builds walls and plants landmines to control a population is structurally incapable of granting them genuine self-rule. To believe otherwise is to ignore a brutal and well-documented reality. Autonomy under the boot of an occupier is not freedom; it is a more sophisticated form of control.
Second, the plan is a deliberate deception to circumvent international law.
The core of the conflict is the principle of self-determination. The ICJ’s 1975 advisory opinion was unequivocal: there were no ties of territorial sovereignty between Western Sahara and Morocco at the time of Spanish colonization. Therefore, the fate of the territory must be decided by its indigenous people, the Sahrawis.
The autonomy plan cleverly sidesteps this fundamental issue. It asks: “How should you be governed under Moroccan sovereignty?” This is the wrong question, imposed by the stronger party. The correct, legal, and moral question remains: “Do you wish to be independent, or integrated into Morocco?”
By supporting the autonomy plan, the US government is not promoting peace; it is rewarding aggression and encouraging other nations to ignore international law in favor of fait accompli policies. It tells the world that sovereignty can be won through invasion and maintained through repression, as long as you have powerful allies.
Third, the people of Western Sahara have already spoken through their legitimate representative.
The Polisario Front, recognized by the UN as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, has consistently called for the referendum. They agreed to a ceasefire in 1991 based on that promise. When Morocco blocked the referendum and later violated the ceasefire in 2020, it confirmed its rejection of a peaceful, UN-backed solution. The autonomy plan is the antithesis of what the Sahrawi people have fought and waited for.
Our Appeal:
We call on the United States government to reverse its misguided position and return to the bedrock principle that has guided decolonization for generations: the inalienable right of all peoples to determine their own political future.
We call on the United Nations to exert all necessary pressure to resume the peace process with a single goal: the implementation of the long-promised referendum on self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, without preconditions and including independence as a valid option.
We call on the international community to not be fooled by the facade of autonomy. Do not lend credibility to a plan that seeks to whitewash a military occupation and the plunder of a nation’s resources—from phosphates to fisheries.
The world must not be complicit in forcing the Sahrawi people to surrender their identity, their territory, and their future. The path to peace is not through imposing a fraudulent autonomy under an occupier, but through upholding justice and allowing the Sahrawi people their long-denied right to choose.
Their freedom is not negotiable.
In solidarity,
Karama Sahara
Please add your organization
42
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Petition created on October 21, 2025