Udenrigsudvalget 2015-16
URU Alm.del Bilag 239
Offentligt
1636108_0001.png
AFRICAN UNION
UNION AFRICAINE
UNIÃO AFRICANA
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, P.O. Box: 3243 Tel.: (251-11) 5513 822 Fax: (251-11) 5519 321
Email:
[email protected]
DRAFT TALKING NOTES
AU SPECIAL ENVOY FOR WESTERN SAHARA
(ARRIA FORMULA MEETING)
1. RECALL TO THE UN SECURIRY COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT:
The question of the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara
has been on the decolonization agenda of the United Nations (UN)
over the past fifty-three years. In fact, Western Sahara has been
inscribed since 1963 on the list of territories to which UN General
Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 on the
Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples would
apply.
To-date, Western Sahara remains on the UN list of the 17 non-self-
governing territories yet to exercise their right to self-
determination.
The advisory opinion rendered by the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) on 16 October 1975, affirming that it had not found legal ties
of such a nature between Western Sahara and the concerned
neighbouring countries that might affect the application of
resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 and, in particular, of the
principle of self-determination through a free and genuine
expression of the will of the people of the Territory. This ushered in
a 16-year long armed struggle against Moroccan occupation of the
Territory by the armed forces of the POLISARIO Front.
2. PEACE PROCESS
 URU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 239: Henvendelse af 19. maj 2016 fra Polisario om Den Afrikanske Unions særlige udsendings briefing af FN's Sikkerhedsråd om Vestsahara
With regard to the achievements, to date, the Settlement Proposals
remain the only agreement ever accepted by both, the Kingdom of
Morocco and the POLISARIO Front, towards the peaceful resolution
of the dispute over Western Sahara. While the ceasefire component
of the Plan, agreed to by the two sides on 6 September 1991, still
holds, no progress has been made regarding the holding of the
envisaged self‐determination referendum.
The UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council have
adopted numerous resolutions, calling for the exercise of the right
to self-determination of the people of the Territory, the question of
Western Sahara remains stalled.
In spite of the sustained efforts made, including by the successive
Personal Envoys of the UN Secretary-General, no progress has been
made in the search for an effective solution to the conflict in
Western Sahara, which has been in a stalemate for more than four
decades;
3. MANDATE Of MINURSO
The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western
Sahara (MINURSO) was established by Security Council
resolution 690 of 29 April 1991 in accordance with Settlement
Plan accepted on 30 August 1988 by Morocco and the Frente
POLISARIO.
The settlement plan, as approved by the Security Council,
provided for a transitional period for the preparation of a
referendum in which the people of Western Sahara would
choose between independence and integration with Morocco.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General was to have
sole and exclusive responsibility over matters relating to the
referendum and was to be assisted in his tasks by an integrated
group of civilian, military and civilian police personnel, to be
known as the UNITED NATIONS MISSION FOR THE REFERENDUM
IN WESTERN SAHARA.
 URU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 239: Henvendelse af 19. maj 2016 fra Polisario om Den Afrikanske Unions særlige udsendings briefing af FN's Sikkerhedsråd om Vestsahara
1636108_0003.png
-
MINURSO mandate is to:
o
monitor the ceasefire;
o
verify the reduction of Moroccan troops in the
Territory;
o
monitor the confinement of Moroccan and Frente
POLISARIO troops to designated locations;
o
take steps with the parties to ensure the release of all
Western Saharan political prisoners or detainees;
o
oversee the exchange of prisoners of war, to be
implemented by International Committee of the Red
Cross, (ICRC);
o
repatriate the refugees of Western Sahara, a task to be
carried out by the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees;
o
identify and register qualified voters;
o
ORGANISE AND ENSURE A FREE AND FAIR
REFERENDUM AND PROCLAIM THE RESULTS;
o
reduce the threat of unexploded ordnances and mines.
4. MOROCCO DECISION TO EXPEL THE 84 INTERNATIONAL CIVIL
SERVANTS
AU Deplores the decision of Morocco;
The decision disrespect to the UN and the UN Secretary
General as well as the UN Security Council;
Constitutes a very dangerous precedent in that it challenges
and undermines the mandate of the UN Security Council in
maintaining international peace and security – if Morocco do
so this cannot prevent other countries to unilateral decide on
the UN Security Council related missions;
Support to the UN Secretary-General efforts aiming to ensure
its early organization and success, to meet the needs and
expectations of the Saharawi refugees;
5. HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AND SECURITY THREATS
 URU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 239: Henvendelse af 19. maj 2016 fra Polisario om Den Afrikanske Unions særlige udsendings briefing af FN's Sikkerhedsråd om Vestsahara
- Suffering of the Saharawi people who are leaving in the
refugee camps for more than four decades;
- The living conditions in the refugee camps declined further as
a result of natural calamities, aggravated by the reductions in
international humanitarian aid;
- The growing frustrations in the refugee camps, the
deterioration of humanitarian situation as a result of heavy
floods in the refugee camps and the importance of an early
solution to the Western Sahara conflict.
- Dangers of the situation in the Sahel-Saharan region, threats
posed by extremists and terrorists operating beyond borders
and increased regional tensions,
6. EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
- Even without the final settlement of the status of the
territory, MOROCCO continues to sign agreements with other
states including the territory of Western Sahara;
- Commends the EU Court of Justice for its recent ruling issued
on 10 December 2015, annulling the trade deal in agricultural
and fisheries products, concluded in March 2012, between
the Kingdom of Morocco and the EU, due to its inclusion of
Western Sahara and calls upon all concerned to respect the
Court’s ruling and desist from entering into any agreement
that would violate the Sahrawi people’s permanent
sovereignty over their natural resources;
7. AFRICAN INVOLVEMENT
Africa has a moral and political responsibility to find a solution to
conflicts in the continent. As the conflict is in Africa and involving
Africans, our continent must play a critical role in those efforts, as it
has been the case in every other conflict in the continent;
Africa should play a leading role in the efforts to find a solution to
the conflict in Western Sahara and should provide much needed
guidance to the international efforts to solve the conflict in
Western Sahara;
 URU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 239: Henvendelse af 19. maj 2016 fra Polisario om Den Afrikanske Unions særlige udsendings briefing af FN's Sikkerhedsråd om Vestsahara
8. SOLUTION OF THE CONFLICT
We must give the people of Western Sahara the opportunity of
choosing freely their destiny;
The solution to the conflict is the holding of a referendum on the
self-determination of the Saharawi people;
Renewal of the mandate of MINURSO at the expiration of its
current mandate, on 30 April 2016, as decided by the Security
Council in resolution 2218 (2015) of 28 April 2015;
The UN Security Council should provide MINURSO with a human
rights mandate, taking into account the need to ensure sustained,
independent and impartial monitoring of human rights in both the
Territory and the refugee camps
UN Security Council should set a date for the holding of the
referendum
UN Security Council should properly address and condemn the
illegal exploitation of the Territory’s natural resources;