Abuja, Sept 27, 2011 (SPS) - “The Abuja international conference on the struggle of Saharawi women for freedom is an culmination of the long held desire of WAELE to provide the much needed tangible support and solidarity towards the liberation of the Saharawi people,” said Tuesday Dr. Basirat Nahibi, president and founder of the Women Advancement for Economic and Leadership Empowerement in Africa (WAELE) speaking to the participants in the conference.
In her pening speech, Dr. Nahibi revealed that the Conference aims to expose the Moroccan human rights violations in Western Sahara and mobilize the global support and actions against the Moroccan illegal occupation.
The Nigerian official recalled how the world pressurized Sudanese President, Umar Al Bashir, to respect the will of South Sudan people to exercise their right to self-determination, while at the same time it had not do as in the case of Western Sahara.
“Let this conference be the catalyst that the international community needs to galvanize global action in heralding the death knell of the last in our beloved continent,” president of WAELE added, calling for an immediate holding of a peaceful refrendum allowing the Saharawi people to determine their destiny.
She also asked the UN, AU and Arab League to assume their responsibilities towards the Saharawi cause and stop the genocide committed by Morocco in Western Sahara, reaffirming the determination of the African women to continue support the Saharawi liberation struggle “as long as this aggression continues.”
The Conference opened Tuesday its works in the prsesence of Saharawi delegation, comprising Saharawi government members and politicians as well as Saharawi huamn rights activists and representatives of the national media, delegation from Algeria, Spain, France and Italy, in addition to Nigerian officials and media.
The Conference which is organized by WAELE in collaboration with the Nigerian Labour Party and Academic Staff Union of Universities, will last for two days and will be marked by the organization of lectures under the themes “the struggle of Saharawi woman for freedom”, “ promoting international solidarity with Saharawi people”, “social and humanitarian challenges of Saharawi women”, “the deafening silence and responsibility of the international community on the situation of Saharawi Women.” (SPS)
090/089