Namibia has called on the UN to stop the continued denial of the Saharawi people's right to self-determination as decades of stalled efforts leave the future of Western Sahara unresolved.
The country made the plea to the UN Security Council and General Assembly to secure access to the occupied territory by the UN human rights office and support a UN-backed referendum on independence.
Thirty-eight years after Morocco and Western Sahara's Polisario Front accepted a UN outline for a self-determination referendum, the Saharawi people are still waiting to decide their political future.
Namibia's Permanent Rep: United Nations Penda Naanda said the continued delay leaves one of Africa's remaining decolonisation cases unresolved.
"However, thirty-eight years later, the people of Western Sahara continue to be denied their inalienable right to self-determination and freedom. Namibia also objects to the exploitation of Western Sahara's natural resources without the consent of its people, saying that commercial agreements involving the territory ought to respect international law."
The country maintains that the Saharawi people must have a say in decisions over their land and resources.
"Autonomy without sovereignty violates the very fundamental human rights that the United Nations is supposed to protect."
Namibia appealed for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to gain unrestricted access to Western Sahara to independently assess the human rights situation.
Ambassador Naanda said restrictions on access limit transparency, accountability, and the international community's ability to monitor conditions on the ground.
Renewal of the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, known as MINURSO, is also gaining ground.
"We support the renewal of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO's) mandate and the holding of a UN-backed referendum in Western Sahara for the Sahrawi people to finally exercise their right to self-determination."
The position reflects Namibia's support of decolonisation and the principle that peoples under colonial rule must be able to determine their own future.
Naanda delivered Namibia's statement during the UN General Assembly's Fourth Committee debate on Non-Self-Governing Territories, which deals with special political and decolonisation matters.