Mp skriver på upprop om Västsahara
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www.mp.se
Pressmeddelande från Miljöpartiet de Gröna 2008-12-19
Mp skriver på upprop om Västsahara
Miljöpartiet de Gröna skriver under det internationella uppropet från Western Sahara Resource Watch, WSRW, som kräver att Västsahara uttryckligen ska exkluderas om EU och Marocko kommer överens om ett utvecklat samarbete.
- Det är en självklarhet för mp att stödja detta upprop. Tyvärr ger i dag omvärlden sitt tysta medgivande till ockupationen av Västsahara och tortyr och diskriminering av saharier. Marockos agerande strider mot folkrätten och mänskliga rättigheter, trotsar FN, Internationella Domstolen i Haag och Afrikanska Unionen. Ett nära samarbete mellan EU och Marocko, där det Västsahariska territoriet inbegrips, skulle bidra till att ge ytterligare legitimitet åt ockupationen, säger Ellinor Scheffert, internationellt ansvarig i de grönas partistyrelse.
Miljöpartiet de Grönas motion Marockos ockupation av Västsahara: http://mp.se/files/138400-138499/file_138432.pdf
FÖR VIDARE INFORMATION: Ellinor Scheffert, 0702-93 55 74 Mattias Bengtsson, presschef, 0736-27 53 83
Uttalandet i sin helhet:
MOROCCOS ADVANCED STATUS MUST EXCLUDE WESTERN SAHARA
We, the signatories of this petition, demand that the European Union do not grant a so-called Advanced Status to Morocco, unless the occupied part of Western Sahara is specifically excluded from the agreement.
The EU and Morocco are currently in discussion on deepening their ties through this cooperation but, so far, there has been no mentioning in the reports from the EU-Morocco talks as to what is being done to prevent occupied Western Sahara from being included into the cooperation agreement.
If the EU would actually grant Advanced Status to occupied Western Sahara, through its negotiations with Morocco as the occupying power, it will give an unfortunate sign of support to the unfounded Moroccan claims over the territory. It could also lead to the EU damaging the UNs efforts to decolonise the territory.
We would like to underline that Morocco continues to be an illegally occupying power in Western Sahara, in violation of over 100 UN Resolutions which call for the Western Saharas peoples right to self- determination. A number of Resolutions point to the fact that Western Sahara is an occupied and annexed territory. Furthermore, the International Court of Justice has rejected Moroccos claims over Western Sahara, and the UN considers the Western Sahara case as a decolonisation issue.
Under international customary law, the EU and its member states have a duty of non-recognition of the Moroccan annexation of Western Sahara, and to support the decolonisation of the territory. It is also a moral obligation, as long as the Sahrawi people suffer either in exile or under severe human rights violations committed by the Moroccan forces in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.
The EU should therefore make sure that Western Sahara is unambiguously excluded from the territorial applicability of the Advanced Status cooperation, without delegating this responsibility to Morocco itself.
If the EU was to make such a precision, it would follow for instance the USA, who in their free trade agreement with Morocco have specifically excluded Western Sahara. It would also follow its own example of excluding the Palestinian territories from the EU-Israel Association Agreement. We urge the EU to follow these precedents and support the UN peace process by respecting its duty of non-recognition.
We, the signatories of this petition, are in principle not against a strengthened cooperation between the EU and Morocco. However, we demand that the agreement coming out of the Advanced Status talks will clearly specify that its applicability shall not extend further south than to Moroccos internationally recognised southern border, namely 27°40N.
Sincerly yours, The Swedish Green Party