London, April 11, 2014 (SPS) The UN Security Council must expand the mandate of its peacekeeping force in Western Sahara to include sustained human rights monitoring, said Amnesty International, amid clampdowns on peaceful protests and reports of activists tortured in custody during the past year, said Amnesty International in a statement Friday.
Washington, April 12, 2014 (SPS) - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recalled the Security Council that the issue of Western Sahara is that of decolonization and that UN efforts are of a strong importance till Western Sahara’s final status is established.
It is one of the key observations and recommendations that the UN chief has formulated in his new report on Western Sahara’s file that he will present on April 17 at the Security Council.
Washington, April 11, 2014 (SPS) - Saharawi activist Mrs. Aminatou Haidar concluded Thursday evening her visit to the United States of America, where she visited several states and informed the public opinion about Morocco’s gross violation of human rights in Western Sahara.
At the end of her 18-day visit, the activist met with Eric Goldstein, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division.
Washington, April 11, 2014 (SPS) - The Western Saharan issue could enter a “decisive phase” at the United Nations Security Council in 2015, the representative of the Polisario Front in the UN, Mr. Boukhari Ahmed, told APS on Friday, in reaction to the new report of UN secretary general on the Saharawi issue.
New York, April 11, 2014 (SPS) - Amnesty International (AI) asked Friday the UN Security Council to expand the mandate of its peacekeeping force in Western Sahara, MINURSO, to include sustained human rights monitoring, noting that since MINURSO mandate was renewed last year the Moroccan authorities have continued to place restrictions on freedom of expression, peaceful protests and civil society in the occupied part of Western Sahara.
Chahid Al Hafed (refugee camps), April 11, 2014 (SPS) - As the first official response from the Frente Polisario, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Mohamed Salem Ould Salek has welcomed the report submitted by the UN Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara, highlighting that it has touched pivotal issues.
In a statement to SPS, Mr. Ould Salek said that the report highlighted very pivotal issues, of which;
Akureyri (Iceland), April 11, 2014 (SPS) - Nordic Youth Council (NYC) has urged the government of France to stop blocking that a UN mechanism of permanent monitoring of human rights must be introduced in the MINURSO mandate, calling on the Nordic countries to take a joint Nordic initiative in support of the enlargment of MINURSO mandate.
Washington, April 11, 2014 (SPS) - The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Mr. William V. Roebuck has expressed his country’s support to the United Nations-led efforts aimed at finding "a peaceful, sustainable and mutually-agreed solution" to the Western Sahara conflict.
N'Djamena, April 11, 2014 (SPS) - Saharawi Coordinator with the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) Mr. Mhamed Khaddad received Thursday in N'Djamena by H.E. Mr. Kalzeubet Pahimi Deubet, prime minister of the Republic of Chad.
Mr. Khaddad delivered to his interlocutor a letter sent by the President of the Republic Mr. Mohamed Abdelaziz to his Chadian counterpart Mr. Idriss Déby.
New York, April 10, 2014 (SPS) - The Secretary General of the United Nations Mr. Ban Ki-moon U.N. called Thursday for “sustained” human rights monitoring in the territory Western Sahara, occupied by Morocco since 1975, warning against unfair exploitation of the territory’s natural resources.
The comments were included in the UN Chief’s latest report on Western Sahara to the UN Security Council, quoted by Reuters.
New York, April 10, 2014 (SPS) - President of the Collective of Saharawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA) Mrs. Aminatou Haidar received Tuesday at the UN headquartes in New York by Dr. Joy Ogwu, current president of the Security Council and permanent representative of Nigeria to the UN.
Oslo, April 10, 2014 (SPS) - Norway’s Liberal Party Leader Mrs. Trine Skei Grande reiterated Thursday, in a meeting with Polisario Front’s Representative in Oslo Dr. Limam Khalil, her party’s support to the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence, voicing support to the extension of MINURSO mandate to include the monitoring and report about human rights in Western Sahara.
Algiers, April 10, 2014 (SPS) - Algeria and Ecuador have called for a “fair” and “lasting” settlement for Western Sahara issue, based on a mutually acceptable political solution which guarantees the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people.
Kigali, April 10, 2014 (SPS) - Non-resident ambassador of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Rwanda Mr. Habib Boukhreis paid Wedensday a courtesy call on the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Rwanda, Hon. MUKABALISA Donatille.
The discussions focused on the latest developments on the question of Western Sahara, including the next meeting of the Security Council and the need to task the MINURSO with human rights monitoring in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.
New York, April 10, 2014 (SPS) - Polisario Front has categorically refuted the statements attributed to its Representative in the UN promoted by certain Arab media oulets that it opposed a French proposal submitted to the UN Security Council, ahead of the deliberations scheduled for current April 17th.
Chahid Al Hafed (refugee camps), April 10, 2014 (SPS) - Several films and documentaries, made by both Saharawi and foreign filmamkers, will be screened at 11th edition of the International Film Festival in Western Sahara (known as: the FiSahara), to be celebrated in the Wilaya of Dakhla from April 29th to May 4th, 2014.
According to the organizers, a range of films that deal with family issues will be displayed at this year’s festival, of which
- Ismael by Argentinian Marcelo Piñeyro
Minnesota, April 10, 2014 (SPS) - The Saharawi activist and defender of human rights Mrs. Aminatou Haidar has arrived in the State of Minnesota, as part of her visit to the U.S. to aware about Morocco’s human rights violations in Western Sahara.
At an invitation by the University of Minnesota, one of the famous universities that deal with human rights issues, Aminatou Haidar took part at a conference under the theme “Iberian colonialism: Spanish people of Arab descent and the state of Western Sahara”, held on current April 4th.
Washington, April 9, 2014 (SPS) - The U.S. professor at Northwestern University School of Law, Eugene Kontorovich, has criticized Wall Street Journal over a correction of an article it published on 3 April 2014, in which it described the territory of Western Sahara as “disputed”, while it is treated as occupied in the leading international law texts.
Kigali, April 9, 2014 (SPS) - Saharawi Ambassador in Rwanda Mr. Habib Boukhreis was received Tuesday in the capital Kigali by Dr. Jean Damascene Ntawukuliryayo, President of the Senate of the Republic of Rwanda .
This meeting focuses on the latest developments on the question of Western Sahara, including the violations of human rights perpetuated by Morocco in the occupied Saharawi territories and the need to task the MINURSO with a mechanism to monitor human right in the occupied Western Sahara.