London Demonstration Demands Justice and Self-Determination for Western Sahara
The British capital today witnessed a peaceful demonstration outside the Moroccan Embassy in solidarity with the people of Western Sahara. Protesters gathered to reaffirm their unwavering support for the Sahrawi people’s inherent right to freedom and self-determination, as recognised under international law.
Participants firmly rejected Morocco’s proposal for so-called “autonomy”, denouncing it as an attempt to legitimise an illegal occupation and to undermine the Sahrawi people’s legitimate right to full independence.
Carrying Sahrawi flags and chanting slogans for justice, liberation, and decolonisation, demonstrators called for an immediate end to Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara. They urged the implementation of United Nations resolutions guaranteeing the Sahrawi people’s right to freely determine their political future. The protesters stressed that no just or lasting peace can exist without the complete independence of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
Statement from the POLISARIO Front Representation in the United Kingdom
The Representative of the POLISARIO Front in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland delivered a resolute statement before the Moroccan Embassy, asserting that Morocco’s “autonomy” plan represents a desperate attempt to legitimise an unlawful occupation and erase the Sahrawi people’s internationally recognised right to independence.
“The right to self-determination and independence is inalienable, non-negotiable, and enshrined in international law,” the statement affirmed, referencing the 1975 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, which concluded that Western Sahara was not terra nullius at the time of Morocco’s occupation, and that the Sahrawi people retain the right to freely determine their own future.
For nearly five decades, the Sahrawi people have endured displacement, repression, and the systematic exploitation of their natural resources. Yet they remain steadfast in their pursuit of their legitimate national aspiration the establishment of a free and independent Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
The POLISARIO Front called upon the international community to end its silence and double standards, urging the United Kingdom, the European Union, and all states committed to justice and the rule of international law to press for the full implementation of UN resolutions. The statement also called for the MINURSO mission to finally organise the long promised referendum on self-determination a democratic process delayed for more than thirty years.
A Call for Justice and International Responsibility
From London, demonstrators sent a clear and principled message to the world: true peace cannot be built on occupation. Justice demands decolonisation, and decolonisation means enabling the Sahrawi people to exercise their right to self-determination a right guaranteed under Article 1(2) of the United Nations Charter, General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples, and subsequent UN resolutions concerning Western Sahara.
The event concluded with a collective appeal that resonated:
“Enough silence. Enough complicity. The time has come for justice in Western Sahara.
Freedom and independence for the Sahrawi people are not optional —
they are obligations under international law.”