Geneva (Switzerland), 29 January 2022 (SPS) - The 306 member organizations of the Geneva Support Group for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in Western Sahara called on Morocco, Wednesday, to abandon its colonial policies and enforce international law in this non-autonomous territory.
The NGOs, in a statement, called "the holders of the resolution on Western Sahara at the UN Security Council to include human rights and rule of law dimensions in the MINURSO (UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara) mandate and to provide the UN chief's special envoy for Western Sahara (Staffan de Mistura) with the required means to fulfill his job and to give Western Sahara people the opportunity to freely express their right to self-determination and independence."
The group, which followed with "great interest" Staffan de Mistura's first trip to the region, urged Morocco to "abandon its ambitions and colonial policies and to abide by and implement the international law for the benefit of Western Sahara people and the populations of the Maghreb and the Sahel."
The group's members "deeply" regretted that De Mistura did not visit the non-autonomous territory occupied by Morocco, "which is completely blocked to independent inspection since 2015, including the High Commission of Human Rights."
The members of the group stressed that all UN resolutions "reaffirm the inalienable right of all people to self-determination and independence," in line with the principles set out in the UN Charter and the Resolution 1514 (XV) of the General Assembly of 14 December 1960 containing the UN Declaration on the granting of independence to colonized countries and peoples.
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