Paris,17 January 2017 (SPS) - The Task Force of the European Coordination Conference for Solidarity with the Sahrawi People (EUCOCO) welcomed the decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which "clearly" stated that Western Sahara, a non-autonomous territory, was occupied by its neighbor Morocco, demanding its application by the European Union countries.
In a statement released after its Sunday’s meeting in Paris, EUCOCO, which will hold its 42nd meeting in the French capital, examined the initiatives to be implemented on the ground, so that "this ruling is applied by the 28 member states of the European Union."
The EUCOCO members also welcomed the recent decision of the UN Committee against Torture. After receiving a complaint of torture by one of the Gdeim Izik detainees, arrested with 23 others in November 2010, the Committee issued on December 12, 2016 a "strong condemnation of Morocco."
In this regard, the members stressed that they were going to "closely follow" the trial of the 22 prisoners of Gdeim Izik, which is expected to be held on 23 January.
For 2017, the participants in the Paris meeting examined the initiatives to be taken to help the Polisario Front and Sahrawi associations to hold the referendum on self-determination and independence.
These initiatives will be undertaken with the African Union, the UN Security Council and the Fourth Committee on Decolonization, said a communiqué received by APS.
A certain number of initiatives are also planned with the European institutions in connection with the EP Intergroup "Peace for the Sahrawi people", at the Council of Europe and the Human Rights Council.SPS
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