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Western Sahara Campaign UK
WELCOME
We are the Western Sahara Campaign UK, campaigning to further support for the self determination of the Saharawi. We are always looking for volunteers and ideas no matter what they are. Please reach out to us on our contact page.
© Tfarah Abd Mulana
The All Party Parliamentary Group needs your support
As reported before we held a successful meeting in the House of Commons but we still need more members for the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Western Sahara. If you have not done so before please use this model letter to write to your MP and ask them to contact Ben Lake MP to say they are interested in joining the APPG.
Voices of the Saharawi people heard in the UK Parliament
On Monday, 20 October a packed room in the UK parliament heard the powerful voice of solidarity with the Saharawi people. The meeting had been called as a platform for Mahfud Bechir from Western Sahara is not for sale to talk about the importance of the recent judgement of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and human rights abuse in the occupied territories.
Friday 4th October saw a crucial court victory for the Saharawi people as the ECJ issued a landmark ruling that occupied Western Sahara cannot be part of EU-Morocco agreements. He explained what action should now be take action to stop the plunder of Western Sahara and to address human rights abuse.
Sidi Breika, the official UK representative for the POLISARIO Front, also updated the meeting about the need for action by the UN to implement their plan for a referendum of self-determination and urged people to write to their MPs.
People were urged to write to their MPs and ask them to join the All Party Parliamentary Group on Western Sahara. Jeremy Corbyn MP, who kindly hosted the meeting, stressed the importance of more MPs taking up the issue in parliament. A model letter is available here to send to your MP.
The meeting was organised by the Western Sahara Action Forum – a collaboration between five UK based Saharawi solidarity organisations. Sandblast, the Western Sahara Campaign, Adala, Olive Branch Arts and Western Sahara Support Group. It was especially pleasing to see many of the growing Saharawi community in attendance as well as representatives from the Algerian Embassy.
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Please see Sandblasts report of the event here.
Victory in the European Court of Justice
In a great victory of the Saharawi people the European Court of Justice has ruled that:
“The 2019 EU-Morocco trade agreements regarding fisheries and agricultural products, to which the people of Western Sahara did not consent, were concluded in breach of the principles of self-determination.”
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Please read more here.
The Palestinian and Israeli Conflict
During our recent conference in London. We collectively decided and designed a statement on the recent increased conflict in Palestine and Israel. We condemn both the atrocities committed by Hamas against the Israeli people, and the collective punishment and war crimes that are being inflicted upon the Palestinian people by Benjamin Netanyahu. Both are unjustifiable and their situation is rooted in a colonial past and a system of oppression inflicted upon the Palestinian people.
Please read our statement here.
We need your support
The campaign needs support and help. We run solely on volunteers. If you think you can help in any way please get in contact. No matter your experience or knowledge your help will go a long way and will be greatly appreciated.
Please contact us at coordinator@wsahara.org.uk
A brief history of the Western Sahara from 1975
In 1975 Western Sahara was occupied by Morocco. An occupation that was judged illegal by the international Court of Justice and the UN Security Council. Since then the Saharawi, the indigenous people of the territory, have ben denied their basic right to self determination and have watched as other former colonies have gained their independance. Morocco has divided the country with a 1500km wall protected by landmines and heavily armed with troops. On one side is the occupied zone, roughly 75% of the territory. In which Morocco carry out a theft of phosphates, fisheries and crops to be illegaly sold as of Moroccan origin on the global trading market. It is illegal to display the flag of Western Sahara in the occupied zone, and there are many disappearances of those with the courage to speak up. The remaining 25% of Western Sahara, is administered by the elected representatives of the Saharawi people, the Polisario Front, and has been proclaimed as the Saharawi Democratic Arab Republic (SADR). However the majority of the Saharawi live in refugee camps near Tindouf in Algeria, who through solidarity have provided a large area to the Saharawi, to give them the ability to maintain an independant state even in exile.
Donate
The Campaign is soley reliant on donations from supporters of all walks of life, no matter how small the donation it will help in our fight to make the international community hold true to its promise and pledge of holding a referendum so that the people of the Western Sahara can decide their own future.