At the ACTU Congress today, 28 May, a resolution was passed on Western Sahara

The Australian Council of Trade Unions notes that
•             Morocco has occupied Western Sahara since 1975
•             UN efforts to accomplish the decolonisation process in Western Sahara have not been successful;
•             Around 165,000 Saharawis continue to live in dire conditions in refugee camps in South West of Algeria;
•             Saharawis in the occupied areas endure human rights abuses and denial of their basic rights;
•             The only just, legal and lasting solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, is to end the Moroccan illegal occupation and allow the Sahara people to exercise their right to self-determination, in accordance with the UN decolonisation doctrine;
Congress:
•             Strongly supports the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence;

•             Condemns the gross violations of human rights in the occupied territories of Western Sahara;
•             Calls on the Moroccan Government to respect human rights in the Saharawi occupied territories and to release all Saharawi political detainees forthwith;
•             Calls on the UN to proceed without further delay with the organisation of the long overdue referendum of self-determination;
•             Urges the UN to expand the mandate of its mission in Western Sahara to include human rights monitoring;
•             protect the natural resources of Western Sahara and set up a UN Council for the Natural Resources of Western Sahara.

Congress urges the Australian Government to:

•             Support the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination in accordance with UN resolutions and relevant UN decolonisation doctrines
•             Call on Australian companies to end the importation of phosphate from Western Sahara through agreements made with Moroccan regime;
•             Pressure Morocco to end human rights abuses in the occupied areas of Western Sahara
•             Call on the Australian government to recognize the Saharawi Republic which has been recognized by the African Union and over 80 countries.