Monthly Archives: February 2017

Amy Goodman talks about Watching Western Sahara: Human Rights and Press Freedom in Africa’s Last Colony

New York, NY 16 February 2017 at 6:00 pm

Panel discussion and  Amy Goodman’s presentation > click here

For 40 years the Saharawi people have been caught between two harsh realities: life in desert refugee camps and life under Moroccan occupation. These realities go largely unreported, and the voices of those living in Western Sahara go unheard. Moroccan authorities deny entry to foreign journalists and strictly prohibit press freedoms in the territory. Despite the media blackout, Saharawi media activists document life under occupation. Watching Western Sahara curates and shares videos from Saharawi media activists. These videos provide a rare window into the day-to-day life of Saharawi people who take risks to expose human rights abuses in Western Sahara.

The panel discussion contextualizes the footage, providing insights into the realities of the often silenced Saharawi and the human rights implications in what a UN commission considers the last colony in Africa.

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Legal opinion on the request of the Kingdom of Morocco’s admission into the AU

Credits: VOA

                                                                                                                         Credits: VOA

Pambazuka News

Office of the Legal Counsel of the African Union 9 February 2017

Morocco was admitted to the African Union at the recent AU Summit. Until now, it was the only African country not to belong to the AU. Morocco left the AU’s predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, in 1984 after the body recognised the independence of Western Sahara, which is still illegally occupied by Morocco.

Read the Legal Opinion of the OLCAU in the Pambazuka Article >>

By Letting Morocco Back In, The African Union Ignores Colonisation

Security men sit in front of a mural of the Western Sahara flag at at the Smara refugee camp in Algeria's Tindouf province, home to some several thousands Sahawari refugees, ahead of the 16th edition of the Sahara Marathon, which is organised to demonstrate solidarity with the Saharawi people and to support the independence of the Western Sahara, on February 22, 2016 . Farouk Batiche / AFP / Getty Images

Security men sit in front of a mural of the Western Sahara flag at at the Smara refugee camp in Algeria’s Tindouf province, home to some several thousands Sahawari refugees, ahead of the 16th edition of the Sahara Marathon, which is organised to demonstrate solidarity with the Saharawi people and to support the independence of the Western Sahara, on February 22, 2016 . Farouk Batiche / AFP / Getty Images

The Huffington Post Blog

Catherine Constantinides

1 February 2017

The inclusion of Morocco back into the fold is a shame on the African Union when the unresolved conflict of the Saharawi people still hangs in the balance.

Huffington Post Blog >>

Morocco is called to contribute to the full implementation of the peace plan (President of the Republic)

 

AU pictureSahara Press Service 1 February 2017

The President of the Republic, Secretary General of Frente POLISARIO, Brahim Gali affirmed from Addis Ababa that the accession of the Kingdom of Morocco to the African Union commits him to contribute effectively to the implementation of the UN-AU peace plan in Western Sahara and respect the sovereignty of the Sahrawi Republic over its territory.

SPS Article >>

SADR ready to negotiate with Morocco to end occupation

Foreign minister oleak

Sahara Press Service 31 January 2017

“The Sahrawi Republic is willing to negotiate with Morocco to put an end to the colonization of our territories in accordance with the international law and the respect of the Sahrawi people’s rights,” Ould Salek told APS on the sidelines of the 28th Summit of the African Union (AU), being held in the Ethiopian capital.

He said that Morocco’s admission into the African Union represented “a victory of the Sahrawi people since Morocco had finally accepted to sit alongside its neighbor, Western Sahara.”

SPS Article >>

ANC regrets Morocco’s return to the African Union fold

anc pic jan 17

Sahara Press Service  31 January 2017

The African National Congress (ANC) expressed on Tuesday its regrets over the African Union’s decision to readmit Morocco into the organization, which represents an “important setback for the cause of the Saharawi people”. 

SPS Article >>

The ANC’s Statement follows:

Statement by the African National Congress on the readmission of the Kingdom of Morocco to the African Union (AU)

Edna Molewa, Chairperson: ANC NEC SubCommittee on International Relations, 31 January 2017

“The African National Congress (ANC) notes the regrettable decision of the African Union (AU) to readmit the Kingdom of Morocco to the organization.

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