MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

24.10.2005

with request for inclusion in the agenda for the debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Willy Meyer Pleite, Vittorio Agnoletto, Jonas Sjostedt, Miguel Portas, Luisa Morgantini, Tobias Pflüger and Pedro Guerreiro
on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
on human rights in Western Sahara

B6‑0574

European Parliament resolution on Western Sahara

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Western Sahara, in particular its resolution on 'human rights in the world in 2004' ('Coveney report'), expressing its great concern regarding the rights of the Sahrawi people,

–  having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  seriously alarmed by the recent discovery of several communal graves containing dozens of Sahrawi corpses around the Agdez, Kalat Maguna and Takounit detention camps,

B.  concerned at the political deadlock reached by the talks and negotiations with the Polisario, mainly as a result of the intransigence of the Moroccan Government in refusing to recognise the fundamental rights of the Sahrawi people,

C.  having regard to the demonstrations organised by the Sahrawi peoples of the occupied territories in support of their right to self-determination and in protest against human rights violations, which were brutally quelled by the Moroccan occupying forces; having regard to the hunger strike by Sahrawi political prisoners which was suspended after 51 days and then resumed on 19 August,

1.  Expresses its support for the right of self determination for the Sahrawi people and the organisation of a free and democratic referendum on the sovereignty of Western Sahara in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, in particular Resolution 1495;

2.  Is shocked by the discovery of communal graves containing dozens of Sahrawi corpses; notes the official statements from Morocco recognising their existence and calls for a full investigation; asks the Moroccan authorities to facilitate the return of the bodies to their families;

3.  Asks the Moroccan Government to release all Sahrawi political prisoners and to investigate in full the hundreds of disappearances amongst the Sahrawi populace;

4.  Welcomes the release by the Polisario Front of all Moroccan prisoners of war and calls on the Moroccan authorities to release immediately all Sahrawi prisoners of war;

5.  Calls on the Moroccan Government to fully accept the prospect of future independence for Western Sahara and to enter into closer political negotiations with the Polisario; recalls that there is no military solution to the crisis in the region and that only an internationally monitored negotiating process will make it possible to find a political and peaceful response to the legitimate claims of the Sahrawi people;

6.  Welcomes the appointment of Mr Van Valsum as UN Special Envoy to Western Sahara and of Mr Batstagali, responsible for the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which should help to relaunch the peace process in Western Sahara;

7.  Calls on the Kingdom of Morocco, the Polisario Front, all countries concerned and the European Union to cooperate full with the UN in winding up the process of decolonisation in Western Sahara;

8.  Stresses the gravity of the human rights violations by Morocco in Western Sahara revealed in recent reports by Amnesty International and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT); calls for the perpetrators of these crimes to be brought to justice;

9.  Calls for the protection of the Sahrawi peoples and their fundamental rights, in particular the right to freedom to information, expression, demonstration and movement;

10  Calls on the Moroccan authorities to guarantee free access to the territory of Western Sahara for independent international observers and representatives of human rights defence organisations and the International press;

11.  Condemns the Moroccan Government for having denied several international delegations, including members of the Spanish parliament, access to Sahrawi territory;

12.  Recalls that since July 2005, it has decided to forward an official delegation to Western Sahara; asks the Rabat authorities to refrain from hampering the activities and free movement of this delegation;

13.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to Council, the Commission, the Government and parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Polisario Front and the United Nations Secretary-General.