Category Archives: Self-determination

Australian Peacekeepers in Western Sahara

Corporals Colin Gamble and Greg Scanlon in the desert conditions of Western Sahara, December 1991. Photo: T. R. Dex

by David Sutton, Australian War Memorial Blog , 6 September 2021

On 6 September 1991 a group of Australian signallers in the remote Western Sahara desert strung an antenna to the roof of their hotel room, connected it to two “very sad looking” Moroccan radios in the Australian contingent commander’s bedroom, and established the Force Headquarters Radio Room for a major United Nations peacekeeping operation. It was an unglamorous start to Operation Cedilla, Australia’s contribution to the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The rudimentary technical conditions were short lived….(cont.)

Article by David Sutton

Situation concerning Western Sahara – Report of the Secretary-General

1 October 2021

The report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2548 (2020), by which the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 October 2021.

The Secretary-Generaal notes that the situation in Western Sahara has significantly deteriorated since his previous report. The resumption of hostilities between Morocco and the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y de Río de Oro (Frente POLISARIO) and the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have considerably changed the operational environment of MINURSO, limiting the Mission’s ability to implement its mandate. (cont.)

Secretary-General’s report 1 Oct 2021

US Senators letter to The Honorable Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State

The letter dated October 14, 2021 from a group of US Senators urges the State Department to prioritize engagement with the Moroccan government about human rights abuses, …

October 14, 2021
The letter concludes:
“The United States must be an advocate for human rights around the world. Yet, concerning abuses by Moroccan authorities, especially against Sahrawis, the administration has said little publicly. We urge you to reaffirm the right of the people of Western Sahara to self- determination, and to advocate for the release of political prisoners and protect freedom of expression for every Moroccan and Sahrawi.”

Blinken-Letter-Morocco_WesternSaharaDownload

Online panel discussion: UN’s responsibility towards Western Sahara, Tuesday 12 October, 7pm (AEST)

Australia Western Sahara Association hosted this fantastic panel of Australian and international guests to discuss the United Nations role in the Western Sahara conflict

Panellists:

  • Jeremy Corbyn MP – Former Leader of the UK Labour Party
  • Francesco Bastagli – Former Head of the UN Mission in Western Sahara, MINURSO, and UN representative in Western Sahara
  • Senator Tim Ayres – Labor Senator for NSW
  • Golriz Ghahraman MP – Green Party of Aotearoa NZ
  • Kamal Fadel – Polisario Front Representative in Australia and New Zealand
  • Moderator Lyn Allison – Former VIC Australian Democrats Senator

When: Tuesday 12 October 2021
Time:  7pm  – Sydney (AEST)

The event was recorded for AWSA’s Facebook page

VIEW WEBINAR ON FACEBOOK
More about SpeakersDownload

Frente POLISARIO press release: The appointment by the UN Secretary-General of Mr Staffan de Mistura as his new Personal Envoy for Western Sahara.

New Personal Envoy, Mr. Staffan de Mistura.

Bir Lehlou, Sahrawi Republic, 6 October 2021

The Press release stressed that “the only way forward to achieve a peaceful, just, and enduring solution to the decolonisation of Western Sahara is to enable the Sahrawi people to exercise freely and democratically their inalienable and non-negotiable right to self-determination and independence in accordance with the precepts of international legality and relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the African Union.”

Press Release, 6 October 2021

Western Sahara, the Biden Administration and Human Rights

By Amit Dadon, Janna Ramadan
Lawfareblog.com, September 21, 2021

U.N. Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) conduct a ceasefire monitoring patrol near Oum Dreyga.

Photo credit: UN Photo/Martine Perret via Flickr; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

In December 2020, then-President Trump drastically broke from established U.S. policy, international consensus, and U.N. resolutions to formally recognize Morocco’s control of Western Sahara in a quid pro quo for Morocco to normalize relations with Israel.

So far President Biden has done nothing to reverse this policy……Implicitly allowing and abetting continued violations of Sahrawi rights and international law diminishes the Biden administration’s credibility when it criticizes abuses committed by other countries. (cont.)

Lawfareblog article

Open Letter to UN Security Council and to the UN Secretary-General New York

New York Support Group for the Independence of Western Sahara
New York, 1 September 2021

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the deployment of the first MINURSO contingent in Western Sahara, the New York Support Group for the Independence of Western Sahara with its 298 member-organisations, including Australia Western Sahara Association, recalls the terms of the Settlement Plan submitted jointly by the UN Secretary-General and the Chairman of the OAU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, and approved by the Security Council. The plan provided  that “the people of  Western Sahara will choose, freely and democratically, between independence and integration  with Morocco” and that “The referendum should be held 24 weeks after the cease-fire comes into effect”.

Rather than 24 weeks, It is now 30 years since that cease-fire Settlement Plan was approved and still there is no resolution of the conflict. This excellent letter identifies the reasons MINURSO and the UN are failing in their mission.

Letter from New York Support Group to UN

Important resolution adopted by EU Greens during the 32nd European Green Party Council

At the EU Green Party conference held 2-6 December 2020 the following resolution was adopted in response to the recent military action by Morocco and the end of the ceasefire:

View EU Greens Resolution

Adopted Resolution, Subject to proofreading
“For an EU that acts in support of peace and the right to self-determination in Western Sahara
The military operation by Morocco on the 13th Nov in the village of Al Guerguerat in Western
Sahara, and the subsequent end to the ceasefire that had been in force since 1991 by Frente
Polisario has brought the military mobilisation of hundreds of men from the Sahrawi refugee
camps located in Algeria.
The confrontations between Morocco and Polisario have also escalated; there have been
several clashes, though no civilian casualties have been reported. The pressure on local
human rights activists and supporters of Sahrawi self-determination has increased, Amnesty
International reported. Continue reading →

NGOs Geneva Support Group press release following resumption of the conflict

NGOs Geneva Support Group for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in Western Sahara (GSGPPHRWS)
Press Release, Bir Lehlu / Geneva,  19th November 2020

“The international community must ensure the exercise of the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination.
The Geneva Support Group for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in Western
Sahara (253 member organisations) condemns the breakdown of the ceasefire in force since
1991 in the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Western Sahara on the part of the Kingdom of
Morocco, which did not hesitate to deploy its troops and weapons in front of a group of
unarmed civilians who were peacefully demonstrating in the demilitarised zone of Guerguerat
in the south-east of the Territory. (…cont.)”

Press release, 19 Nov 2020