Kampala (Uganda) 14 October 2024 (SPS) – The Ugandan Solidarity Association with Western Sahara warmly welcomed the ruling by the European Court of Justice, which annulled the trade agreements between the European Union and Morocco concerning Western Sahara due to their violation of the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination and their rejection by the Sahrawi people and its legitimate representative, the Polisario Front.
The Ugandan newspaper, New Vision, reported on the association’s stance, noting that the recent court decision, issued in early October, upholds previous rulings by the European General Court from 2016 to 2021 in favor of the Polisario Front.
These rulings confirmed that Western Sahara is a distinct country, separate from Morocco, meaning the EU cannot enter into agreements with Morocco over its resources.
Commenting on the ruling, Tulingira Emmanuel Clark, the President of the Ugandan Solidarity Association with Western Sahara, stated: " We commend the ECJ for upholding international law and recognising Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara."
He added that the ruling sends a strong message against making trade deals at the expense of the Sahrawi people.
The association also called on the international community to support the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination and urged for dialogue between the EU and the Polisario Front to ensure fair and comprehensive agreements.
In its statement, the association recalled that the European Court, in its final judgment, declared all agreements that Morocco has used to export agricultural and fishery products from the occupied Western Sahara to the EU as illegal, marking a significant victory for the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination. (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)