Melbourne (Australia), March 9, 2015 (SPS) - Deakin University’s Centre for Citizenship, Development and Human Rights and the Australian Western Sahara Association will hold a conference in Melbourne entitled: Natural Resources – the Key to Western Sahara’s Future, 19-20 March 2015.
This will be the first international conference on the question of Western Sahara’s natural resources in conflict resolution. An impressive array of international and local speakers, including Ben Saul, Ged Kearney, Stephen Zunes and Damien Kingsbury. Barrister Tim Robertson, SC, will speak at the the conference dinner about the legal issues surrounding the exploitation of Western Sahara natural resources.
The role of international law and the continued affirmation of the legal rights of the Saharawi people over their natural resources is the central theme of the Conference on the role of natural resources in the conflict in Western Sahara.
President of AWSA Lyn Allison said “we’re delighted to help organise this important event which will contribute to the protection of Western Sahara’s natural resources, and offer solutions for ending the conflict.”
Australian companies such as Incitec Pivot (based in Melbourne) are involved in the exploitation of phosphates from Western Sahara through illegal contracts signed with Morocco. Morocco has occupied the Territory since 1975 which, according to the UN, is illegal under international law.
Natural resources are at the core of Morocco's continued occupation of Western Sahara. Recent oil drilling off the coast of Boujdour by Kosmos and Cairn have injected a new urgency into the issue, with increased competition for control over Africa's last colony’s abundant resources. (SPS)
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