United Nations S/2019/500

Security Council Distr.: General 17 June 2019

Original: English

Letter dated 14 June 2019 from the Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

I have the honour to transmit herewith a letter from the representative of the Frente POLISARIO, Sidi M. Omar, addressed to the President of the Security Council (see annex). I should be grateful if you would have the present letter and its annex issued as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Jerry Matthews Matjila Ambassador Permanent Representative

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S/2019/500

Annex to the letter dated 14 June 2019 from the Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

I am deeply saddened to report that Moroccan landmines have again claimed innocent lives in . On Saturday, 1 June, Mr. Lammen Ould Aljadi, a Sahrawi military officer, was killed as a result of a mine accident while on routine patrolling duty in the area. Two members of Mr. Aljadi’s unit also suffered serious wounds. The tragic incident is a reminder of the persistent scourge of landmines in Western Sahara. Almost three decades after the United Nations-brokered ceasefire, Western Sahara remains one of the most heavily mined areas in the world. More than 7 million landmines are believed to be scattered throughout the Territory, along with large quantities of explosive remnants and cluster munitions. Most of the landmines are buried along the Moroccan military wall, which remains the world’s largest continuous minefield. The destructive force of landmines directly affects the Sahrawi population, on both sides of the wall, as its members regularly suffer from injuries or amputations or die due to accidents related to landmines and explosive remnants of war. The Frente POLISARIO has made it a priority to eradicate its landmine stockpiles. As reported by the Secretary-General, on 6 January 2019, we destroyed our last landmine stockpiles in compliance with the Geneva Call Deed of Commitment for Adherence to a Total Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines and for Cooperation in Mine Action, which we signed in 2005. This step was a sign of our enduring commitment to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts and the Additional Protocol thereto of 8 June 1977, to which the Frente POLISARIO declared its adherence on 23 June 2015 on behalf of the people of Western Sahara. Our declaration of adherence to Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions was accepted by the Swiss Federal Council, the depositary of the Conventions, and was reported to the States parties. In his report of 1 April 2019, the Secretary-General lauded the Frente POLISARIO’s destruction of its last remaining landmine stockpiles, calling it a “commendable first step” that demonstrated our willingness to make progress on the political track and a gesture of good faith. The Frente POLISARIO remains committed to maintaining its active cooperation with the United Nations Mine Action Service as it conducts survey and clearance operations in the Sahrawi liberated territories. The Sahrawi Mine Action Coordination Office, which operates as a local partner of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara on matters related to mine action, has also been active in conducting demining and mine awareness activities. Sadly, our gestures of good faith have not been reciprocated by , the occupying power of Western Sahara, which has thus far refused to sign the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction of 1997 and the Convention on Cluster Munitions of 2008. If the political track is to progress and further deaths are to be avoided, then it is imperative that the international community exert the necessary pressure on Morocco to abide by the principles of international humanitarian law and to adhere to international instruments banning the use of landmines and related devices. The 7 million landmines in Western Sahara have taken a heavy toll on Sahrawi civilians on both sides of the Territory. They have wreaked havoc on Sahrawis’ livelihoods and cost civilians their lives. It is therefore crucial that the United Nations

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and the Security Council intensify efforts to ensure that Morocco eliminates its arsenal of landmines and conducts urgently needed demining activities in occupied Western Sahara. Such progress is necessary, both to save civilians lives and to ensure that further progress is made on the political track. I should be most grateful if you would bring the present letter to the attention of the members of the Security Council.

(Signed) Sidi M. Omar Representative of the Frente POLISARIO at the United Nations

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