Besides, according to the State party, from the moment when the status of territories was determined by the international community, such territories were no longer a Portuguese responsibility, and it was for that reason that Portugal moved to decolonize them during the 1970s.

Mr. Ortiz (Secretary of the Federacion Estatal de Instituciones Solidarias con el Pueblo Saharawi de España FEDISSAH) said the problem of Western Sahara was undoubtedly a problem of decolonization, as demonstrated by the resolutions that the General Assembly had adopted since the end of the 1960s reaffirming the need to decolonize that Territory on the basis of respect for the right of the Saharan people to self determination and independence.