Boujdour (refugee camps), Dec 5, 2016 (SPS) - The participants in the 7th International Conference of Solidarity with Sahrawi Workers denounced the illegal exploitation of Western Sahara resources by the Moroccan occupier, and urged the United Nations to intervene and end the repressive policy against Sahrawi people.
Representatives of different unions participating in the Conference, held on the sidelines of the Eighth Congress of the General Union of Sahrawi Workers (UGTSARIO), reiterated their solidarity with Sahrawi workers, especially those living in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.
They also committed, in their final declaration, "to sending union missions to the occupied territories to enquire about the situation of Sahrawi workers," and called on the Moroccan authorities to stop denying entry to journalists, lawyers and international organizations into the occupied Sahrawi territories.
The trade unionists urged the UN to hold a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara, "a right guaranteed by international resolutions," said the final declaration.
They also expressed their support to Sahrawi political prisoners and called for a fair trial.
The participants called on Spain, which is holding the presidency of the UN Security Council for December, to assume its historical responsibilities towards the Sahrawi people and complete the decolonization process.
African trade unionists suggested that the Conference boycotts all Moroccan products from the occupied territories. All the participants agreed to examine this proposal in depth soon.
They also denounced the expulsion of Pan-African Parliament Deputy Speaker Souielma Beirouk by the Moroccan authorities and preventing her from attending the works of the COP22 in Marrakesh. (SPS)
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