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Gathering in Melbourne urging France to vote in favor of UN human rights mechanism in Western Sahara

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, April 15, 2012 (SPS) - The Australia Western Sahara Association (AWSA) organized Friday a protest in front of the French Consulate in Melbourne under the slogan: human rights for Western Sahara - the time is now!, to urge France to vote in favor of adding human rights monitoring to the mandate of MINURSO, informed Polisario Representation in Australia.

Some of the protesters were dressed as the three monkeys embodying the proverbial principle to “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”, which represent the way in which the United Nations has turned a blind eye to human rights abuses in occupied Western Sahara, most notably, France.

At the end of the gathering, the famous comedian and political activist Mark Thomas along with Ron Guy, member of AWSA, presented the letter of the demonstration to the French Consul addressed to the French Government.

In his speech, Mr. Thomas said that France has “an opportunity to do the right thing and show that it is truly a country that respects human rights by allowing the UN to include human rights monitoring in the mandate of its mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO).”

It is worth recalling that Ms. Lyn Allison, AWSA's president, had sent a letter on 26 March 2012 to the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon stated “you will be aware that MINURSO – the UN mission in Western Sahara – is the only UN peacekeeping mission established since 1978 without a mandate to monitor human rights. This means that Morocco has been able, with impunity, to occupy Western Sahara and subject the Saharawis to arbitrary arrest, disappearances, false imprisonment, unfair trials, torture and the death penalty.”

“I write to urge you…to press for human rights monitoring to be included to protect the civilian population there. The measures adopted last year have proved completely inadequate and ineffective.” he added. (SPS)

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