Copenhagen, June 25, 2012 (SPS) - The president of the Danish Organization “Afrika kontakt”, Mrs.Signe Borker Bjerre, has drew attention of the European Committee in the Danish Parliament regarding the human rights violation committed by Morocco in occupied Western Sahara, in a letter sent on 21 June 2012.
Mrs. Bjerre recalled that the government of Denmark “has previously expressed a deep concern over developments in the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara and the more general development of human rights in Morocco itself. This concern shared by the Danish Organisation Africka Kontakt.”
The letter recalled that “Western Sahara today, under international law, is illegally occupied by Morocco and the International Court in The Hague in 1975, before the Moroccan invasion, decided that Morocco has no valid legal claim to the territory of Western Sahara. Also, no country in the world has recognized Moroccan claim to Western Sahara and the occupation has been declared in contrary to international law by more than 100 UN resolutions that require self determination for people of Western Sahara. Western Sahara is treated by the UN as the last colonial conflict in Africa.”
He also pointed out that the people of Western Sahara “have declared their own republic in exile, which has since been recognized by more than 80 countries,” noting that a number of international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, in various times “have demonstrated serious and systematic human rights violations committed by the Moroccan occupying power in occupied Western Sahara. Substantiated examples include deportations, torture, physical assault, arbitrary detentions, banning human rights organizations, censorship of the press, etc.”
The letter also recalled to the humanitarian situation of over 150,000 Saharawis living in refugee camps in the Algerian desert, alarming to its deterioration as a result of a shortage of food and clean drinking water, equipment and medicine in the camps hospitals and health clinics. Malnutrition is widespread in the camps that are heavily dependent on international aid.
The letter therefore called on Danish Parliament’s members to the need for act to face such dangers, asking them to adopt genuine attitudes translate reality of the concern which has been expressed formally by the Danish government. (SPS)
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