Question of Spanish Sahara

XXVII. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE FOURTH COMMITTEE
2983. Question of Spanish Sahara

The General Assembly, Having examined the chapter of the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples relating to the Territory of Spanish Sahara,[1] Recalling its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, Recalling also the relevant provisions of its resolution 2621 (XXV) of 12 October 1970 containing the programme of action for the full implementation of the Declaration, Taking into consideration the relevant resolutions adopted by the Ninth Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African Unity, held at Rabat, Morocco, from 12 to 15 June 1972, and by the Conference of Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Georgetown, Guyana, from 8 to 12 August 1972, Having regard to the decision of the Heads of State of the countries concerned, adopted at the Conference held at Nouadhibou, Mauritania, on 14 September 1970, to intensify their co-operation in a positive manner in order to hasten the liberation of s-called Spanish Sahara, Reaffirming its resolutions 2072 (XX) of 16 December 1965, 2229 (XXI) of 20 December 1966, 2354 (XXII) of 19 December 1967, 2428 (XXIII) of 18 December 1968, 2591 (XXIV) of 16 December 1969 and 2711 (XXV) of 14 December 1970, Deploring that the administering Power has not provided sufficiently clear information on the conditions and time-table it intends to apply in brining about the complete decolonization of the Territory,

1. Reaffirms the inalienable right of the people of the Sahara to self-determination and independence in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV);

2. Reaffirms the legitimacy of the struggle of colonial peoples and its solidarity with, and support for, the people of the Sahara in the struggle they are waging in order to exercise their right to self-determination and independence, and requests all States to give them all necessary moral and material assistance in that struggle;

3. Declares that the continued existence of a colonial situation in the Territory is endangering stability and harmony in north-west Africa;

4. Expresses its support for, and solidarity with, the people of the Sahara, and calls upon the Government of Spain, in conformity with its obligations and its responsibility as the administering Power, to take effective measures to create the necessary conditions for the free exercise of their right to self-determination and independence;

5. Repeats its invitation to the administering Power to determine, in consultation with the Government of Mauritania and Morocco and any other interested party, the procedures for the holding of a referendum under United Nations auspices to enable the indigenous population of the Sahara to exercise freely its right to self-determination and independence and, to this end, invites the Government of Spain:

(a) To create a favourable political climate for the referendum to be conducted on an entirely free, democratic and impartial basis by permitting, inter alia, the return of political exiles to the Territory;

(b) To take all the necessary steps to ensure that only the indigenous inhabitants exercise their right to self-determination and independence, with a view to the decolonization of the Territory;

(c) To receive a United Nations mission and provide it with all the necessary facilities so that it can participate actively in the implementation of measures making it possible to put an end to the colonial situation in the Territory;

6. Invites all States to comply with the resolutions of the General Assembly on the activities of foreign economic and financial interests and to refrain from helping to perpetuate the colonial situation in the Territory by means of investments;

7. Reaffirms the responsibility of the United Nations in all consultations intended to lead to the free expression of the wishes of the peoples;

8. Urges the administering Power to respect and to implement scrupulously, under the auspices and guarantee of the United Nations, the provisions of the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly relating to the decolonization of so-called Spanish Sahara;

9. Requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the administering Power and the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, to appoint immediately the special mission provided for in paragraph 5 of General Assembly resolution 2229 (XXI) and to expedite its dispatch to the Sahara in order to recommend practical steps for the full implementation of the relevant resolutions, and, in particular, to confirm United Nations participation in the preparation and supervision of the referendum and to submit a report to the Secretary-General for transmission to the Assembly at its twenty-eighth session;

10. Calls upon the Special Committee to continue its consideration of the situation in the Territory and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its twenty-eighth session.

2110th plenary meeting
14 December 1972

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[1] Official Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-Seventh Session, Supplement No. 23 (A/8723/Rev.1), chap. XII.