Paris – The European Coordination of Support for the Sahrawi People (ECCG) concluded its 49th conference in Paris on Saturday with a declaration calling on France to champion the fundamental rights of the Sahrawi people before international bodies.
The concluding declaration, read by ECCG President Pierre Galand, stated: “France must strongly and resolutely defend the principles of international law and the fundamental rights of the Sahrawi people within European institutions, the Security Council, and the United Nations General Assembly.”
The declaration further asserted that, “France, in cooperation with Spain, could persuade Morocco to end its colonial occupation of Western Sahara, thereby contributing to the revival of the Maghreb as a group of peoples united by a common destiny of peaceful coexistence, development, and the building of an exemplary partnership with both Europe and Africa.”
The ECCG also addressed the recent UN Security Council Resolution 2797, issued on October 31st, condemning what it described as Morocco’s “noisy interpretation” of the resolution.
The declaration emphasized that “this resolution reaffirms the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), recognizes the Polisario Front as the sole legitimate representative of the people of Western Sahara, and clearly stipulates the need for the United Nations to reach a just and lasting political solution that is mutually agreed upon and allows the people of Western Sahara to exercise their right to self-determination in accordance with the principles and objectives of the United Nations Charter.”
Furthermore, the ECCG condemned the “delaying tactics employed by the European Commission in its attempt to impose a partnership agreement with Morocco, contrary to the ruling of the European Court of Justice,” which stipulates that Western Sahara and Morocco are separate and distinct territories.
The ECCG conference affirmed its solidarity with farmers’ unions that have launched a campaign to denounce these maneuvers by the European Commission, which it says contradict the interests of its citizens and are based on an outdated liberal trade model that is destructive to the environment.
Finally, in light of the continued and grave human rights violations perpetrated by Morocco, the conference demanded “the immediate release of all Sahrawi political prisoners and the granting of access to the occupied territories for international observers and organizations.”
