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Western Sahara: UN committee exposes Morocco's plunder of natural resources

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Washington (United States), Nov. 5, 2016 (SPS) - UN human rights expert committee has denunciated Morocco's plunder of Western Sahara's natural resources, expressing deep concerns over the deadlock Saharawis' self-determination process has reached.
The human rights committee of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) published Monday its sixth periodical report on Morocco, in which it calls into question the illegal exploitation of Western Sahara's resources.
Morocco has not taken the required measures to consult Saharawi people over the matter, according to the committee's findings.
The committee, on Nov. 24-25, asked representatives of Moroccan government about the situation of human rights and civil rights in Morocco and Western Sahara.
The committee called on Morocco to embark on negotiations on the status of Western Sahara, held under the aegis of the UN secretary general, so as to allow Saharawi people to exert their right to self-determination.
The report mentioned several cases of enforced disappearances in Morocco and Western Sahara, which remain unsolved and the perpetrators not yet identified, tried and punished. (SPS)
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