Melbourne (Australia), March 24, 2015 (SPS) - Following its international conference held 19 - 20 March in Melbourne on the natural resources of Western Sahara, the Australia Western Sahara Association (AWSA) called on the Federal Government to prohibit Australian company trade in Western Saharan resources from the occupied territory and to push the UN to force a breakthrough in the 40 year stalemate of Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara.
“As the 7th largest importer of Western Sahara-sourced phosphate rock (940,000 tonnes in 2014) Australia should also ban the trade in ‘pillaged’ resources that are not expressly permitted by or are of direct benefit to the Saharawis.”
Jeffrey Smith, Canadian International lawyer said “The exploitation of resources from Western Sahara has never been profitable’, but that ‘Morocco’s motivation is the in-migration of Moroccan nationals to work in mining, thus helping secure the territory and build international acceptability of the annexation.’
Kamal Fadel, the Saharawi representative in Australia, said it was crucial to stop Morocco’s plunder of Western Saharan resources. SADR has signed contracts with several mining companies such as Hanno Resources that employ Saharawi geologists to explore the liberated territory resource opportunities. SADR says it will cooperate with all its neighbours, including Morocco, to achieve stability and.
International lawyers told the conference that Australia should formally recognise the Western Sahara Republic (SADR) which governs for the majority of Saharawis (in exile) and controls part of its territory.
Three Australian fertiliser companies have imported the rock – Incitec Pivot, Wesfarmers and Impact. The latter stopped imports from Western Sahara when purchased by a Swiss company. Wesfarmers CSBP imports are on hold while they trial a new process allowing them to source the material elsewhere. (SPS)
062/090