Southern African Development Community Supports Sahrawi People

The ordinary summit of heads of state and government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Sunday reaffirmed its solidarity with the people of Western Sahara in their legitimate struggle for the right to self-determination.

The 45th summit, held in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between SADC and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, according to its final communiqué, emphasizing the complementary nature of the United Nations-led process on the self-determination of Western Sahara.

The summit stressed the importance of alignment between the implementation of the memorandum of understanding between SADC and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, the United Nations-led process, and all other efforts undertaken by the African Union.

SADC countries have repeatedly affirmed their unwavering support for the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, calling on the UN Security Council to include a mechanism for monitoring and protecting human rights in the occupied territories within the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).