Question of Spanish Sahara

XXVIII. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE FOURTH COMMITTEE
3162. Question of Spanish Sahara

The General Assembly, Having examined the chapters 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 the Sahara under Spanish domination,[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 Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity at its tenth ordinary session, held at Addis Ababa from 27 to 29 May 1973, and by the Fourth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Algiers from 5 to 9 September 1973,[2] Having regard to the decisions of the two summit conferences of Heads of State of the countries concerned relating to the Sahara under Spanish administration, Noting the statement by the representative of Spain in the Fourth Committee[3] in which he renewed the commitment of his Government to respect the right of the people of the Sahara to self-determination, Deploring, however, the fact that the special mission provided for in earlier resolutions on the so-called Spanish Sahara has not yet been able to visit the Territory in order to carry out the task entrusted to it, Further reaffirming its previous resolutions on the so-called Spanish Sahara,

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

2. Reaffirms the legitimacy of the struggle of colonial peoples and expresses its full solidarity with the people of the Sahara under Spanish administration;

3. Reaffirms its attachment to the principle of self-determination and its concern to see that principle applied within a framework that will guarantee the inhabitants of the Sahara under Spanish domination free and authentic expression of their wishes, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions on the subject;

4. Repeats its invitation to the administering Power to determine, in consultation with the Governments 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;

5. 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;

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

7. 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 the so-called Spanish Sahara;

8. 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 the special mission provided for in paragraph 5 of General Assembly resolution 2229 (XXI) of 20 December 1966 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-ninth session;

9. 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-ninth session.

2202nd plenary meeting,
14 December 1973

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[1] Ibid., Twenty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 23 (A/9023/ Rev.1), chaps. IV and XII. [2] A/9330 and Corr.1, p. 44. [3] Official Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-eighth Session, Fourth Committee, 2066th meeting.