Statement concerning the U.S. drafted resolution on Western Sahara, and bill H.R.4119, Polisario Front Terrorist Designation Act

Not Forgotten International (NFI) is a humanitarian aid organization that believes no voice should go unheard, no people group overlooked. Through collaborative community-based projects, we uphold the honor, dignity, and freedom of refugees to pursue fulfillment in spite of their difficult circumstances. NFI’s central purpose is carried out through the development of strong and ongoing relationships with the people it serves.

Prior to our incorporation as a non-profit organization, we began visiting and serving the Sahrawi people and developing relationships with them in 2000. Currently, our main program provides English-language education to adult refugees as a tool of empowerment, so Sahrawi voices can be heard in the global community. We encourage their pursuit of freedom and cause of self-determination through education.

NFI advocates for an end to the last illegally occupied country in Africa – Western Sahara – which would result in the freedom of the Western Sahara citizens to reunite and live in peace in their homeland country after having endured forced exile and ongoing violations of essential human rights since 1975.

Our dedicated team of volunteers not only live and work in the refugee camps but actively share life with the Sahrawi Refugees. They experience first-hand how these people have had to suffer under the current situation. The quality of life in the camps is stagnating at a very low level. Apathy, hopelessness, and resignation increase with every year that passes without a solution.

Regarding the U.S. drafted resolution to the U.N. Security Council on Western Sahara

It has become increasingly difficult to keep this humanitarian issue before the governments that can possibly make a difference, and in recent years, several countries have publicly endorsed Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Western Sahara or recognized Morocco’s claim of sovereignty over the Sahrawi’s former homeland. In 2020 the U.S. recognized full Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in exchange for Morocco establishing relations with Israel. In 2022 Spain proclaimed Morocco’s proposal as “the most serious, realistic and credible basis” for ending the dispute over Western Sahara. And in 2024, France joined 37 other nations in recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.

Yet Morocco’s claim to sovereignty remains deeply contested — lacking international legal foundation, defying multiple U.N. resolutions, and sustained more by political expediency than by the consent of the Sahrawi people. The United Nations continues to affirm that the Sahrawi people have an inalienable right to self-determination and independence, and that Morocco does not exercise any sovereignty over Western Sahara.

NFI applauds the Trump administration for giving the Western Sahara issue the attention it deserves, and seeking resolution for this ongoing conflict. After years without true movement in the cause, such conversations and discussions are long overdue. However, the U.S.-drafted resolution on the Sahara focuses exclusively on Morocco’s 2007 Autonomy Plan under Moroccan sovereignty as the sole framework for such negotiations, conversations, and discussions. This is a direct contradiction to the U.S. Administration’s call on “all parties to engage in direct negotiations without preconditions.” Basing any talks solely on Morocco’s 2007 Autonomy Plan is a precondition that is not acceptable, as it excludes the options of a referendum or the full independence of Western Sahara.

We respectfully implore the U.S. Administration to reevaluate their position, and commit to discussions truly without preconditions. This would include a referendum-based solution for Western Sahara, confirming the 1975 International Court of Justice ruling that recognized the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination. The Sahrawi people deserve a solution that does not violate their right of self-determination and true independence.

Regarding the bill H.R.4119, titled “Polisario Front Terrorist Designation Act”

This bill seeks to investigate whether the Polisario Front should be designated as a terrorist group under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189), which specifies these three criteria:

1. 1. It must be a foreign organization.

   2. The organization must engage in terrorist activity, as defined in section 212(a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(3)(B)), or terrorism, as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. §2656f(d)(2)), or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism.

   3. The organization’s terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.

The Polisario is engaged in a liberation struggle within Western Sahara along the sand berm erected by Morocco in the 1980s. This struggle for independence has been their sole purpose for the past 50 years. It is our opinion that a liberation movement engaged in military conflict after the disintegration of the 29-year ceasefire cannot be called “violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.”

The third criterion states that the organization’s activity must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security of the U.S. In our 25 years of cooperation with the Polisario, neither our U.S.-based leadership nor our numerous short- and long-term teams that have visited and lived in the refugee camps have seen, heard, or experienced anything that would justify the Polisario’s designation as a terrorist group. Our teams have always been protected by the local population and the Polisario Front, which goes to great lengths to ensure our safety and the safety of hundreds of other foreign nationals that visit the refugee camps each year. The Polisario’s actions are targeted only towards the liberation movement of their former homeland, the Western Sahara.

H.R.4119, introduced on June 24, 2025, by Congressman Wilson of South Carolina, seeks “to provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to the Polisario Front, and for other purposes.” However, the bill also states that “the designations and sanctions described in section (4) of this bill may be waived by the President if it is determined that the Polisario Front is engaged in good faith negotiations to implement the autonomy plan for the Western Sahara put forward by the Kingdom of Morocco and submitted to the UN Security Council in 2007…”

H.R.4119 seems to be a threat to pressure the Polisario to agree to negotiations to implement Morocco’s 2007 Autonomy Plan, or else get designated as a foreign terrorist organization. We strongly oppose these tactics and this bill, and again implore the U.S. Administration to hold transparent negotiations with all parties, without preconditions.

We as NFI will continue to honor the Sahrawis by representing their intrinsic value and priceless worth. We will continue to empower them by standing alongside them in efforts to support their dignity and cause. We will continue to aid in their pursuit of freedom and foundational human rights.

The Board of Directors of Not Forgotten International
28 October 2025