Joint letter from humanitarian organisations working in support of the people of Western Sahara

President of the UN Security Council,
Ambassadors of Member States of the UN Security Council,
New York.

16th April 2014

Mrs. President, Ambassadors of the Member States of the United Nations Security Council,

In 1991 Security Council resolution 690 established the mandate for MINURSO to conduct a free and fair referendum for self-determination for the Sahrawi people. 23 years later the Sahrawi people are still waiting to enjoy that inalienable right which is laid out in United Nations resolution 1514 (XV).

In the meantime, Western Sahara remains a colony of Spain, illegally occupied by Morocco and the largest of only 16 remaining non-self-governing territories identified by the United Nations which have yet to be decolonised. Up to 160,000 Sahrawis remain in refugee camps in the desert of neighbouring Algeria, reliant on diminishing international aid. Continue reading →

The broadcast of “Broken Families” has been postponed for a week and is scheduled for transmission on Sunday 9th February at 22.30 GMT. It will be repeated at 09.30 Monday 10th, 03.30 Tuesday 11th and 16.30 on Wednesday 12th.

Screening will take place in UK Parliament
Brahim Dahane is coming to the UK to speak at this event.

On Sunday 9 February 22.30 GMT Al Jazeera is broadcasting a documentary about Saharawi human rights defenders starring Brahim Dahane. Entitled “Broken Families” and it is in a series called Witness. It is possible to stream it live at : http://www.aljazeera.com/watch_now/

GMT is 11 hours behind Eastern Standard Australian time.

For more info on the “Broken Families” film >>

Continue reading →

Foreign Policy in Focus (FPIF) 20 December 2013
Stephen Zunes
“The Obama’s administration’s policy on Western Sahara constitutes nothing less than a rejection of fundamental principles of international law.
In his meeting with King Mohammed VI, President Obama praised the “reform process” in Morocco even as the country maintains its abusive occupation of Western Sahara…..Late last month, President Barack Obama met with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI in Washington for their first face-to-face meeting. The result was a bitter disappointment for supporters of human rights and international law….(cont.)”

Read more >>

The Australia Western Sahara Association (AWSA), 28/11/2013

PRESS RELEASE: Sons of the Clouds: the Last Colony – a documentary

Produced and narrated by Javier Bardem, written and directed by Alvaro Longoria
Stars Javier Bardem, Elena Anaya, Carlos Bardem
Melbourne’s only screening will be held on Tuesday 3 December at 7 p.m. as a collaboration between the Australia Western Sahara Association (AWSA) and Filmoteca at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) Continue reading →

Javier Bardem and the forgotten struggle of Western Sahara
Channel 4 News, Oct 7, 2013

Actor Javier Bardem is talking about the post-colonial struggle no-one wants to talk about – his new documentary ‘Sons of the Clouds’ shines a light on the 40 years of oppression for the people of the Western Sahara.

YouTube video interview >>

IC Magazine – Supporting the Indigenous Peoples Movement
By Nationalia • Oct 23, 2013

Moroccan security forces attack protesters who demanded an end to the occupation · Events coincide with a visit by Christopher Ross, who is preparing a new round of negotiations. (cont.)
Read more >>

Promises made over 40 years must be honored
by David Keene, The Washington Times, Sunday 20 October
Last month, a Spanish forensics team called in to examine the remains of six adults and two children found in a mass grave in Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara raised anew charges that in seizing the area in the 1970s, the Moroccans had captured or arrested and killed hundreds of Western Saharan civilians. (cont….)

Full-text >>

10/03/2013
by Nadir Bouhmouch:   Born in Casablanca and raised in Rabat, Nadir Bouhmouch is an award-winning filmmaker, human rights activist, feminist and film/global justice student at San Diego State University.
“My first encounter with the Sahrawi-Moroccan conflict also happens to be one of the first and most striking memories of my life. Only three years after the ceasefire, I was four years old when my mother, my grandfather and grandmother were on a vacation in Merzouga, a small desert town in south-eastern Morocco just a few kilometers from the Algerian border. During our stay in Merzouga, my mother– a fan of adventure…..(cont.)

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