Western Sahara Review/Revista del Sahara Occidental 3

8/13/2019 Western Sahara Review/Revista del Sahara Occidental 3

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3January 2014

Western Sahara

Review

Revista del Sahara

Occidental


2/23

Western Sahara Reviewpromotes the right of the Sahrawis to

self-determination.

It is politically independent. Its objective is to provide a forum for analysis, debate and information about the

Sahrawi struggle. Contributions will include topics in the spheres of political strategy and diplomacy, history, law,

economics, and culture.

Articles published in the review are the views of their authors, who may prefer to remain anonymous to readers

but must identify themselves to the editors. They may be written in English, Spanish or rench. !nce accepted for

publication, they will only be edited for style and clarification. The review will be published on an occasional basis.

The intention is that the review"s content is original and does not repeat well #nown positions. It is not an

academic publication $ although contributions from academics are welcomed $ but rather an attempt to provide

readers with opinions and information with which to advance the cause of self%determination, a cause that is

currently at an impasse. So, articles should be written in a style that is accessible to readers who are not e&pert in

particular disciplines.

'roposals for articles for future editions of the review are welcomed, particularly from Sahrawis living under

occupation, in the camps, or in e&ile elsewhere.

Copyright for the articles and photographs used remains with the originators.

The review is published on line free of charge to ma#e it accessible to as many people as possible. In return,

readers are as#ed to publicise its e&istence to others to ensure that it is widely read and its articles widely

discussed.

The contact address for the review is( saharareview)gmail.com

In this edition* The need for greater + ownership of the -estern Sahara dispute

* Carta abierta

* -estern Sahara and 'alestine $ economic and legal strategies to end occupation

* a#ing music for freedom

* /ou Craa $ a place of resonances

This issue of Western Sahara Reviewis dedicated to the memory of

Graham sher

!e was a "reat #ournalist and an honest friend of all $eo$le stru""lin" for

#ustice%
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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The need for UN ownership of

the Western Sahara dispute

Mathias Vaa is former Danish diplomat cur-

rently working for the non-profit diplomatic

group Independent Diplomat, which advises the

Polisario Front. his article is written in a per-sonal capacity.

This year 2014 will see the UN renew its efforts

to mediate a solution to the dispute oer West-

ern Sahara !etween "oro##o and the $olisario

%ront.The conflict, however, is likely to remain

unresolved unless the UN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-Moon and the UN Security Council are

reared to ut ressure on Morocco to seri-ously en!a!e in the mediation rocess and ac-cet the need to comromise"

#or the ast $% years, a series the UN Secret-ary-General&s 'ersonal (nvoys have )een un-a)le to find a solution to a conflict that has las-ted almost *% years" This has in lar!e art )een)ecause of Morocco&s insistence that the dis-uted +estern Sahara is an inaliena)le art ofits territory and the reluctance of UN Secretar-ies-General and their reresentatives to insist

on a formal ne!otiatin! framework that isfirmly )ased on international law"

To chan!e this, Ban-ki Moon and his current(nvoy, former US dilomat m)assador Chris-toher oss, will need to )e reared to inde-endently drive forward the UN-led oliticalrocess, uttin! forward concrete otions thatthe arties will need to address and discuss ina round of formal ne!otiations" This will in-volve ersuadin! the Moroccan kin! that a sus-taina)le solution to the disute must )e )ased

on resectin! the indi!enous oulation&s ri!htto self-determination"

To understand why, it is necessary to take ahistorical look at the ori!in of the conflict andsee how efforts to end it have evolved" .n doin!so, it )ecomes clear that the olitical and le!alframework for addressin! the undeterminedstatus of theTerritory of +estern Sahara hasconsistently )een )ased on the near-universalreco!nition of the Sahrawi eole&s funda-

mental ri!ht to self-determination"

ny future aroach that ne!lects this )asicfact runs the risk of romotin! a solution thatwill not endure and would )e contrary to inter-national law" esect for meanin!ful self-de-

termination must remain aramount as the UNseeks to reconcile the conflictin! ositions of'olisario and the Kin!dom of Morocco"

The histori#al !asis of self-determination

+hen Sain announced its unilateral with-drawal from the Territory of +estern Sahara in$/01, few would have redicted that it wouldhave caused a conflict that has ersisted to thisday" t the time, +estern Sahara was listed as aNon-Self Governin! Territory 2NSGT3 on the

UN&s list of countries that had the ri!ht to un-der!o decolonisation" .n $/41, the UN Generalssem)ly re5uested that Sain 6 +esternSahara&s then colonial master 6 or!anise a ref-erendum under UN suervision in order to re-sect the Sahrawi eole&s ri!ht to self-determ-ination and let them decide on their future"

s the officially desi!nated 7administerin!ower8 of the Territory, Sain announced in$/0* that it would arran!e a referendum" Butthis romise was i!nored in the followin! year

as the death of #ranco forced Sain to look in-wards and i!nore its resonsi)ility to finalisethe decoloni9ation rocess" .nstead, in :cto)er$/01, Sanish troos allowed Moroccan forcesto invade +estern Sahara, followed )y a hu!einflu; of Moroccan civilians who heled consol-idate the occuation of the Territory" .n #e)ru-ary $/04, Sain officially withdrew from +est-ern Sahara while Morocco claimed soverei!ntyover the Territory - a claim that no country hasreco!nised to this day"

clearlystated that Morocco had no claim of territorialsoverei!nty over +estern Sahara and insteadreaffirmed 7the rincile of self-determinationthrou!h the free and !enuine e;ression of the

will of the eoles of the Territory"8

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No chan!es have taken lace in the ensuin! ?@years to chan!e the le!al validity of that oin-ion or the Sahrawi eole&s continued )asicri!ht to self-determination"

The Moroccan invasion and attemted anne;a-tion of +estern Sahara resulted in a $4 yeararmed conflict with 'olisario, the olitical andarmed reresentatives of the Sahrawi eole".n the ensuin! ceasefire a!reement in $//$,)rokered )y the UN, )oth Morocco and the 'ol-isario a!reed to the 7Settlement 'lan8, whichincluded the holdin! of a referendum to resolvethe disuted status of +estern Sahara"

The UN Security Council unanimously en-

dorsed the 7Settlement 'lan8 in esolution 4/%"Conse5uently, the Security Council set u a UNeacekeein! Mission whose rimary urosewas to oversee a referendum within si; monthsof its incetion" This mandate was reflected inits official titleA Mission for the eferendum in+estern Sahara 2Minurso3"

esite the collective a!reement on holdin! areferendum and the creation of Minurso, thisreferendum was never held" Throu!hout the$//%s, disa!reements arose over the comosi-

tion of the voter-records that would form the)asis of a vote" Morocco insisted on allowin!voters )ein! re!istered who had moved to theTerritory followin! its invasion in $/01 while'olisario insisted that the re!istry )e )ased ona census conducted )y Sain in $/0*, some-thin! that Morocco had also reviously acce-ted"

+hile the UN Mission attemted to reach acomromise, Morocco sou!ht to aeal thevoter-lists that had )een comiled )y the UN

.dentification Commission" The recently a-ointed 'ersonal (nvoy of the Secretary-Gen-eral, former US secretary of state >ames Baker,convened Morocco and 'olisario in $//0 inames Baker, resented a revised lanto the arties, callin! for a two-sta!e solutionto the conflict"A a five-year eriod of autonomy

for +estern Sahara, followed )y a referendumamon! the Territory&s inha)itants" Manydeemed this a constructive and worka)le com-romise that was the )est attemt at reconcil-in! the arties& very different ositions" s aresult, the roosal was unanimously suor-ted )y the mem)ers of the UN Security Counciland acceted )y 'olisario" But it was re=ected)y Morocco, in lar!e art )ecause it feared thatthe roosal on voter re!istration would fa-vour those who sou!ht indeendence"

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:nce a!ain, as had )een the case in %%%, theSecretary-General and, in this case, the SecurityCouncil in articular did not assert their au-thority and imose a solution on Morocco,

which they had the authority to do" .nstead,they allowed the Kin!dom to e;ercise a defacto veto and define the mediation rocess interms that were suortive of it continuin! itsanne;ation of +estern Sahara" .n so doin!, onlyli-service was aid to the rincile of self-de-termination, and the )asic framework of theSettlement 'lan 6 which remains valid to thisday 6 was i!nored"

Ne!otiations )etween the arties were not re-sumed until %%@" .n the recedin! year, Mo-

rocco and 'olisario ut forward their searateroosals to the Security Council on how to re-solve the conflict" These )ecame the new )asisfor en!a!in! in direct talks" +hile Morocco&sautonomy lan insisted on the inclusion of+estern Sahara as a art of the Kin!dom withlimited devolved owers, 'olisario continuedto affirm the fundamental ri!ht to self-determ-ination throu!h the holdin! of a referendum"

No ro!ress was made in reconcilin! the twooosin! views and for the ast five years,

oss has )een una)le to )reak the deadlock"

:n assumin! office in >anuary %%/, oss ini-tially continued the work of his redecessorand sou!ht to en!a!e the arties in formaltalks" fter oss )e!an to ursue a more fle;-i)le aroach of informal talks, Morocco sud-denly u)licly called for his removal in May%$ in resonse to a reort )y the Secretary-General that descri)ed Moroccan human ri!htsa)uses in the Territory with unrecedentedand surrisin! frankness"

lthou!h confidence was restored in oss inu!ust %$, followin! interventions )y the USand UK, as well as the UN Secretary-General,his dilomatic momentum was disruted andhis rimary focus )ecame restorin! his rela-tionshi with the Moroccan kin! and re!ainin!the trust of senior Moroccan officials"

.n his latest attemt to move talks forward 6and some susect to avoid adotin! a confront-ational aroach that could rei!nite Morocco&sire - oss announced at the end of %$ his in-

tention to em)ark on shuttle dilomacy, anoen-ended rocess where he would en!a!e ina series of searate dilomatic encounters withthe arties"

This would re5uire him to meet indeendentlywith the Moroccan kin! and the 'olisario lead-ershi to solicit their views and determinewhether there was willin!ness to comromise"Should that willin!ness )e a)sent amon! thearties, some have su!!ested that oss wouldsusend his mediation efforts and return to theSecurity Council to ask for direct !uidance toresolve the conflict"

The (iplomati# )utloo* for 2014

.t is widely e;ected that Christoher oss willtravel to the re!ion early this year to meet withthe Moroccan kin! and the Secretary-Generalof 'olisario, kickin! off this shuttle dilomacy".t is unclear whether another series of meet-in!s will )e held )efore the UN Security Councilmeets in ril for the annual renewal of Min-urso&s mandate, or how many meetin!s osswill seek to hold )efore announcin! his assess-ment of the arties& readiness to seriously en-!a!e in talks where middle !round can )e

found"

e!ardless of how lon! this rocess is allowedto take, shuttle dilomacy is unlikely to makero!ress" #undamentally, Morocco has few in-centives to chan!e its current osition, whichena)les it to consolidate its control over +est-ern Sahara" lthou!h no country reco!nises itsclaim to +estern Sahara, neither the mem)ersof the Security Council nor any individual coun-tries have to date shown that they are ready tout ressure on Morocco to chan!e its osition

and to achieve a comromise solution in ac-cordance with international law and resectin!the Sahrawis ri!ht to self-determination"

#or 'olisario - which already comromised inaccetin! autonomy in an interim eriod withthe su)se5uent !uarantee of the holdin! of areferendum, as outlined )y the Baker 'lan - it isunclear what additional and credi)le com-romises it can )e asked to make"

.f the UN Secretary-General is serious a)out

endin! the conflict and makin! ro!ress

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+arta a!ierta

!rahim "oumria,presidente de la #D$ %&'

,a )rgania#in de (efensores Saharauis 2/

enera#in sigue #on mu#ha preo#upa#in el

deterioro de los dere#hos humanos en los

territorios o#upados del Sahara )##idental .

D ese la !ran cantidad de los informesela)orados or :NG internacionales 5uerevelan esta situaciEn critica en la cual vivenlos saharauis en la 9ona ocuada orMarruecos del Sahara :ccidental, la :NU aunno udo e;tender el mandato de la Minurso

ara 5ue odrF incluir la o)servaciEn de losderechos humanos en su misiEn " Marruecos desu arte no 5uiso arender un )uen e=erciciodesus del royecto 5ue fue resentado orlos (stados Unidos ante el Conse=o deSe!uridad en el aHo %$?I tamoco 5uisoarovechar la oortunidad 5ue tuvo del mismoconse=o al no otar or ese royecto en esafecha "

Se 5uedo muy claro ara nuestra :NG 5ue elr!imen en Marruecos se )urla de la

comunidad internacional y cuenta or el aoyode sus aliados 5ue le ermitiE estarse mas detres dcadas imune" D en lu!ar de haceral!unas me=oras so)re sus actuacionesa!resivas contra las manifestaciones acificasde los saharauis en las ciudades ocuadas delSahara :ccidental y los =uicios sumarios contraresos de conciencia , comen9E con laalicaciEn de los traslados a)usivos deintelectuales saharauis )a=o distintos rete;tosinconvenci)les "

(sta olJtica de vaciar el territorio del Sahara:ccidental de sus ha)itantes autEctonos tuvosus rimeras sJntomas en los aHos $/01-$/0@,cuando Marruecos invadiE el territorio de la e;colonia esaHola" as desaariciones y lossecuestros de miles de ersonas y lali5uidaciEn de centenares , entre los 5ue fueronenterrados vivos en fosas comunes , los 5uemurieron )a=o tortura o mal trato en loscentros secretos de detencion y los 5ue fueron)om)ardeados or el naalm y el fosforo

)lanco, son el testi!o 5ue Marruecos mismo no

uede desmentir a causa de las rue)as claras,los testimonios vivos y las huellas 5ue de=aronsus oficiales en los lenos desiertos del Sahara:ccidental, 5ue acusan al reino de Marruecosor cometer crJmenes de lesa humanidadcontra el ue)lo saharaui"

Mas a todo esto, los resonsa)les en Marruecosintentaron en mLltiles ocasiones alicaral!unos mtodos de olJtica 5ue tiene como finvaciar el territorio no autEnomo de susha)itante ori!inales" (n el $% de =ulio de $/@@mas de 0%%% saharauis, todos eran en sumayorJa alumnos en los cole!ios de lasciudades ocuadas, fueron trasladados hacia el

interior de Marruecos y nom)radosfuncionarios" Marruecos con su camaHamediFtica intento convencer a la comunidadinternacional 5ue solo se trata)a de unadecisiEn 5ue muestra el )uen trato 5uereci)Jan los saharauis or arte del (stado deMarruecosI mientras 5ue el o)=etivo no era mas5ue el ale=ar a los saharauis de su territorionatal desus de la visita de una comisiEntcnica de la :NU a la ciudad ocuada aiun enel % de noviem)re de $/@0" urante estavisita los saharauis intentaron or!ani9ar

manifestaciones ara reivindicar su derecho enauto determinarse" as autoridades deMarruecos detuvieron mas de *%% ersonassaharauis, mas de *% ersonas de este !ruono fueron li)erados hasta el % de =unio de$//$" causa de esta decisiEn del (stado deMarruecos miles de =Evenes saharauisa)andonaron el estudio y erdieron su futuro yactualmente viven en ro)lemas econEmicas acausa de sus sueldos )a=os 5ue no les )astanara mantener sus familias"

(ste fenEmeno de las decisiones a)usivas sereetirF osteriormente en el aHo %%%desus de las manifestaciones de setiem)rede $///" onde mas de 4%% licenciados fueronnom)rados funcionarios en distintas ciudadesen el interior de Marruecos" ue!o en el aHo%$% y %$$ desus del desmantelamientoa!resivo del camamento de Gdeym .9ik,donde mas de 1%% intelectuales entrelicenciados y catedrFticos saharauis fueronnom)rados funcionarios en distintos sectores

en el interior de Marruecos, mientras 5ue en

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las ciudades saharauis solo se nom)ranmarro5uJes "

ctualmente se encuentran centenares deintelectuales saharauis 5ue e=ercen su tra)a=o

como funcionarios en distintos sectores en elinterior de Marruecos" Todos sufren de estasituaciEn a la cual fueron sometidos a causa deldeterioro econEmico de sus familia en losterritorios ocuados del Sahara :ccidental "Todos estFn reartidos de una forma 5ue de=amuy claro ara cual5uiera 5ue el (stado deMarruecos evita hasta su a!ruaciEn en lasciudades marro5uJes" Si en el Ministerio del.nterior, or e=emlo, nom)ro mas de $1?saharauis de los dos se;os, casi raras veces

encontramos dos saharauis en la mismaciudad" o mismo sucede con los saharauis enel Ministerio de #inan9as 5ue alcan9an unos *$saharaui, y tam)in con los 5ue estFn en elMinisterio de la (nseHan9a"

(stos !ruos nom)raron un comit aradefender sus derechos en volver a las ciudadesocuadas del Sahara :ccidental " 'ero lasautoridades de Marruecos comen9aron e=ercerresiones contra los miem)ros de dicho comit" ctualmente cinco de ellos erdieron el

sueldo mensual or ordenes suremas en el!o)ierno de Marruecos"

(n setiem)re de %$? vino la decisiEn masfatal y mas racista, cuando el Ministerio de#inan9as traslado de forma a)usiva elfuncionario saharaui Taye) Sayad desde laciudad ocuada de aiun hacia la ciudad dea)at en Marruecos" Cuando este saharauiTaye) Sayad a)dico de su car!o comoresonsa)le y idiE del Ministerio de #inan9as5ue le de=en como simle funcionario en laciudad de aiun ara 5ue odrF estarse cercade su familia, un alto car!o del mismoministerio, se trata del Tesorero General deleino, cancelo el sueldo mensual delfuncionario saharaui sin nin!Ln rete;to=urJdico "

causa de esta decisiEn se hicieron muchosactos de condena or arte de la sociedad civiltanto saharaui como marro5uJ" (l dia ?$ denoviem)re de %$? se or!ani9o una

manifestaciEn solidaria con el funcionariosaharaui Taye) Sayad frente la sede del

Ministerio de #inan9as en aiun" (n estamanifestaciEn articiaron dos filiales de lossindicatos en Marruecos CT y UMT mas una!ran cantidad de militantes de la sociedad civil

saharauis y marro5uJes" ue!o aareciE el casode esta familia en tres F!inas del #ace)ook yuna !ran cantidad de la rensa marro5uJ"Todos condenan la decisiEn a)usiva delMinisterio de #inan9as"

'ero el acto mas sensi)le 5ue se hi9o hastaahora y el cual nos o)li!o ara redactar estacarta, es el de su hi=a #atma Sayad, nacida en el* de setiem)re de $//0 en aiun, Sahara:ccidental" (s alumna en un cole!io de aiunocuado , cursa en Bachillerato" Cuando vio

las ve=aciones 5ue sufre su adre a causa de lasresiones de los altos car!os del Ministerio de#inan9as, y como su edad y sus medios no leermiten restar ayuda de cual5uier modo a suadre, decidiE sacrificarle con su futuro" sJ,tomo la decisiEn de a)andonar el estudio, ymediante un comunicado 5ue fue u)licado yenviado a distintas :NG ase!uro 5ue sudecisiEn es definitiva hasta 5ue el !o)ierno enMarruecos ratifi5ue sus errores y on!a fin alas resiones 5ue se e=ercen contra su adreTaye) Sayad"

(l hecho de 5ue una alumna saharaui a)andonesus estudios ara rotestar contra ciertasviolaciones del (stado de Marruecos or notener otros medios ara rote!erse de lasreresarJas de su adversario, ara nosotroscomo defensores de derechos humanos en esta9ona, es el echo mas temi)le 5ue odemoseserar como resuesta de las vJctimas de lasviolaciones contra las autoridades deMarruecos en los territorios ocuados del

Sahara :ccidental"Como es sa)ido, 5ue los menores siemreinterretan los hechos sin anali9ar el fin decada acto" D en caso no darnos imortancia aeste modo de rotestas, tememos 5ue en elfuturo, el movimiento =uvenil saharaui en losterritorios ocuados del Sahara :ccidental, lotoman como forma de rotesta contra lasviolaciones de derechos humanos en la 9ona, ocomo forma de reivindicar el derecho deautodeterminaciEn del ue)lo saharaui" D asi

aca)amos en una !eneraciEn sin estudios" Mas

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5ue eso, ara nosotros, el a)andono del estudioes una forma o e;resiEn muy clara de ladeseseran9a" (sta, a su ve9, es la 5ue lleva alsuicidio" Cosa 5ue todo el mundo intenta evitar

en el conflicto del Sahara :ccidental"Hadiendo a todo lo citado anteriormente, y enel momento 5ue el 'arlamento (uroeo trata eltema de los tratados de la esca en el )ancosahariano, 5ue coincidiE con el dJa de lacele)raciEn de la eclaraciEn Universal de loserechos


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no autEnomo" demFs el 'arlamento (uroeo,en este sentido, incentiva al !o)ierno deMarruecos ara se!uir cometiendo masviolaciones de derechos humanos contra los

saharauis" o cual le aHade a la lista de loscEmlices en las violaciones 5ue cometeMarruecos en los territorios ocuados delSahara :ccidental"

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troduce la)ellin! !uidelines on ve!eta)les andher)s from ille!al .sraeli settlements" .dentify-in! a roduct as comin! from an O.sraeli settle-ment& will not )rin! an end to the occuation of

the +est Bank and (ast >erusalem )ut the cam-ai!n has !enerated thousands of media stor-ies a)out the occuation and forced the .sraeliu)lic to e;amine the ille!ality of their !overn-ment&s actions"

More concretely, the (uroean Commissionhas issued new !uidelines to ensure it nolon!er rovides u)lic funds to .sraeli settle-ments" Norway has stoed its !overnmentension fund from investin! in .sraeli settle-ments 2and also +estern Sahara3"


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>ust as with non-self-!overnin! territories, Ooc-cuyin! owers& like .srael or, in this case, Mo-rocco, have le!al resonsi)ilities towards theinha)itants of a territory under occuation"

These can )e found on the data)ase of the.nternational Committee of the ed Cross,which contains introductions and all le!al te;tsand a customary data)ase of international hu-manitarian law"

But international law, includin! the interna-tional humanitarian )ranch, also sets out ri!htsand resonsi)ilities for uninvolved states and,more recently, even individuals" The omeStatute and .nternational Criminal Court havemade headlines for rosecutin! individuals for

O!rave )reaches& of international humanitarianlaw, commonly referred to as war crimes,which are set out under the Geneva Conven-tions" These laws have )een incororated intodomestic law in most states that have si!nedthe treaty"

3rea#hes of peremptory norms

.n recent decades, there has )een increasin!reco!nition )y states that they have resonsi)-ility to act in a certain way towards other states

that are directly committin! serious )reachesof Oeremtory norms& of international law"These resonsi)ilities have )een defined )y the.nternational Court of >ustice in the Nami)iaand +all in the :ccuied 'alestinian Territorycases, throu!h UN Security Council resolutions,the .nternational aw Commission rticles onState esonsi)ility, and the ractice of statesthemselves" They include o)li!ations not tonot to reco!nise, aid or assist other states inserious )reaches of international law, )oth in-ternational humanitarian and human ri!htslaw" States defined these eremtory normsAas the prohi*ition of aggression, the illegal use

of force, the prohi*itions against slavery and theslave trade, genocide and racial discrimination

and apartheid, the prohi*ition against torture,

the *asic rules of international humanitarian

law and the right of self-determination, the pro-

hi*ition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treat-ment and crimes against humanity, the prohi*i-

tion of piracy, and the principle of permanent

sovereignty over natural resources.12

(uty of non-re#ognition

The ne;t area of law relevant to camai!ners isthe Pduty of non-reco!nitionP"

.n the case of Nami)ia, the .nternational Courtof >ustice determined that states must notenter into treaty relations with South frica,which was occuyin! the territory, or enterinto economic relations with South frica thatwould entrench its hold on the territory, andmust refrain from dilomatic or consular rela-tions that would imly reco!nition of the ter-ritory"

There have )een a num)er of domestic UKcourt cases around the duty of non-reco!nition"Most recently, the


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occasions )ecause it )elatedly reco!nised itwas )reachin! the duty of non-reco!nition"

#irst, the (U was allowin! .sraeli comaniesand imorters to !ain e;emtion from customs

ta;es )ecause it alied the (U-.srael ssoci-ation !reement to .sraeli settlements in the+est Bank and Ga9a and allowed everythin!from eers to cosmetics from settlemets toenter (uroe ta; free" (ffectively, the (U wasreco!nisin! .sraeli soverei!nty over territory ithad esta)lished unlawfully" Charles Shamasfrom the 'alestinian Mattin !rou worked tire-lessly to e;ose the loohole, resultin! in theesta)lishment of a new )ureaucratic system orOTechnical rran!ement& for the imort of .s-

raeli settlement roduce"

Tomatoes and fish currently enter (uroeanmarkets tariff under the (U-Morocco ssoci-ation !reement, )ut the utch !overnment in%$ reco!nised it cannot allow !oods fromMoroccans in +estern Sahara to enter its mar-kets ta; free"

By contrast, the UK !overnment has told retail-ers that they can aly for referential ta; freetreatment for Moroccan settlements in +est-

ern Sahara thou!h this is a clear )reach of theduty of non-reco!nition" 'olisario or indi-vidual Britons or Sahrawis could otentiallytake le!al action to )rin! this to an end"

.ndeed, advice from one UK lawyer hi!hli!htsthatA 3(rticle C%BE of the Protocol to the +1-Is-raeli (ssociation (greement is identical, in rel-

evant parts, to (rticle CCBE of Protocol to the

+-Morocco (greement.C. It would therefore

seem to follow that the G customs authorities,

if they have reasona*le dou*t as to the origin of

particular products claiming to originate in Mo-rocco are entitled to seek verification from the

Moroccan customs authorities and, if the latter

do not provide sufficient information to ena*lethe real origin of the products to *e determined,

the former are entitled to refuse to grant prefer-

ential treatment in respect of such products.6

The ro)lem is the (uroean Commission cur-rently fails to accet its duty of non-reco!nitiontowards +estern Sahara" .ndeed, accordin! toCorrell, the Commission is wron!ly alyin!his official le!al oinion to the UN Secretary

General in 7an astonishin! way8 to ena)le it toen!a!e in treaty relations with Morocco over+estern Sahara" ccordin! to the CommissionA0o the etent that eports from )estern $ahara

are de facto *enefiting from the trade prefer-ences, activities related to natural resources un-

dertaken *y an administering power in a non-

self-governing territory are lawful as long asthey are not undertaken in disregard of the

needs, interests and *enefits of the people of that

territory.

he de facto administration of Morocco in )est-

ern $ahara is o*liged to comply with these prin-

ciples of international law. he same applies to

the new (greement on the li*eralisation of trade

on agriculture and fisheries products which willenter into force from ? #cto*er %=?%. In this

contet, the Moroccan authorities have already

agreed to provide information on all relevant

areas of the implementation of this (greement.his would also cover information on the *ene-

fits of this (greement for the local population in-

cluding in the )estern $ahara territory.26

The (uroean Commission is takin! a oten-tially very costly le!al !am)le here"

+hen camai!ners discovered that the (U was!ivin! millions of euros of research funds tocomanies oeratin! in ille!al .sraeli settle-ments, they forced the Commission to issuele!al !uidelines to sto the ractice usin! theduty of non-reco!nition" The .sraeli rimeminister led a dilomatic camai!n to force the(U to )ack down, even threatenin! to with-draw from a multi-)illion euro research a!ree-ment includin! the whole of .srael"


15/23

end or cancel arts of a!reements it hassi!ned with Morocco"

5iding and 5!etting

(U !overnments oerate state comanies, en-sions investments at local and national level,and su)sidise charita)le !ivin! throu!hschemes like the UK&s Gift id" These transfermoney to Morocco for a whole ran!e of reas-ons" But what haens if (U states unwittin!lyinvest in Moroccan hoshate mines or fishfactories in +estern Sahara or rovide e;ort!uarantees, loans or ta; incentives that helnational comanies to e;loit ille!ality .n-deed, how do they know where their funds end

u (U mem)er states not only have an o)li!a-tion not to reco!nise serious )reaches of inter-national law )ut also not to rovide aid or as-sistance that maintains a continuin! serious)reach of international law" .f they do so, theycould )e lia)le for restitution or comensation"

The UK !overnment recently advised interna-tional security comany G*S to withdraw its in-volvement in .sraeli settlements and check-oints in the +est Bank" G*S has much morelucrative UK contracts and so took the advice

seriously" But why did the UK !overnment !ivethe advice +as a le!al officer concerned a)out!overnment contracts with a comany aidin!.sraeli settlements nd, rior to the advice,had the UK rovided e;ort !uarantees to G*Sfor this work, otentially e;osin! the !overn-ment to le!al action

That some ma=or (uroean financial institu-tions are re-e;aminin! their e;osure to fund-in! of the .sraeli occuation has already )eenmentioned" There is lenty of oortunity to

e;tend and e;loit these reviews" .sraeli )anksare closely involved in fundin! ille!al .sraelisettlement )uildin! and maintainin! )ankin!services for local councils who oerate .sraelisettlements" nd Moroccan financial institu-tions suort the hundreds of thousands ofMoroccan settlers and the ille!al e;loitation of+estern Saharan natural resources" (uroeaninvestors in these )anks and other financial)odies can have their feet held to the fire alon!with !overnments comlicit in suortin!

them"

+orporate +ompli#ity

Comanies are not arty to international law 6they do not as it were have Ole!al ersonality"&.t is states that si!n treaties, sit at the UN andare (U mem)ers" But some states, such asCanada and the Netherlands, have assed na-tional laws that not only aly internationalcriminal law to individuals )ut !ive comaniesdomestic le!al ersonality" So comanies toocan also )e tried for war crimes, crimes a!ainsthumanity and !enocide" .n recent years, therehave )een a strin! of cases tryin! to )rin! com-anies to =ustice for a)uses in the occuied'alestinian territory"

6oluntary Standards

There is an emer!in! doctrine of Osoft law,& vol-untary rinciles and standards that coman-ies are not le!ally o)li!ed to aly )ut whichthey increasin! si!n u to or say they aly"The most well known are the UN Guidin! 'rin-ciles on Business and


16/23

ult in disputed titles to the land, water, mineral

or other natural resources which might *e the

su*


17/23

statesA 3It is misleading to8 omit material inform-ation that the average consumer needs, accord-

ing to the contet, to take an informed transac-tional decisionO hide or provide material inform-

ation in an unclear,unintelligi*le, am*iguous oruntimely mannerO fail to identify the commercial

intent of the commercial practice if not already

apparent from the contet.

)hen assessing practices for omissions, the fol-

lowing aspects are taken into consideration8

)hat counts is the effect of the commercialpractice in its entirety, including the presenta-

tionO Information must *e displayed clearly8 o*-

scure presentation is tantamount to an omission

to informO6

nd the UK duly rovided advice to retailerstradin! with +estern Sahara" .n a written ar-liamentary answer on the $4 >uly %$, >im'aice M', the minister then resonsi)le,statedA3'eneral advice has *een given to the!ritish /etail 1onsortium a*out the consumer

sensitivities surrounding the la*elling of pro-

duce imported into the nited Gingdom which is

of )estern $ahara provenance.

nder + law, information on food la*els must

not mislead consumers, and failing to give par-ticulars of the place of origin or provenance of a

food when consumers may otherwise *e misledto a material degree as to the food0s true origin

or provenance is an offence

D+F/( officials have discussed origin la*ellingwith the !ritish /etail 1onsortium, indicating

the desira*ility of giving Produce of )estern

$ahara2 as the origin on the la*els of such

goods.6

But the minister addedA3:owever, in the case ofproduce packaged in the region of production,

D+F/( recognises that it may not *e practical

or economic for an importer or a retailer to la-*el goods of )estern $ahara origin in that way,

in view of the fact that such a declaration of ori-

gin cannot *e made when the goods are impor-

ted into the + if they are to Lualify for the pref-

erential tariff treatment provided for *y the +-Morocco (greement.6

This seems a)surd" The minister aears to )e

sayin! that retailers must a)ide )y consumer

rotection law )ut then that it is alri!ht forthem to commit a criminal offence if they wantto reduce the customs ta;es they ay"

lthou!h it is a criminal offence, in the UK en-

forcement is the resonsi)ility of local author-ity Tradin! Standards officers who may )ecomletely unaware of +estern Sahara and .s-raeli settlements" esite the stron! intent ofsome local tradin! standards officers, com-laints a!ainst suermarkets wron!ly markin!+estern Sahara tomatoes seem to !et lost in asystem" Tradin! Standards officers su!!est afew more letters of comlaint would hel to en-sure that action is taken"

Under other (U laws, comanies do not have torovide !eo!rahic Oori!in& la)els for allroducts, =ust some such as fruit, meat and ve-!eta)les" +here ori!in la)els are dislayedthou!h, they must comly with the Unfair Com-mercial 'ractices irective" But )usiness to)usiness trade such as hoshates is outsidethe scoe of these laws"

The open 7uestion

cademic le!al te;ts a!ree that the duty of non-

reco!nition alies to +estern Sahara" .n twole!al rofessional oinions )y servin! )arris-ters the duty also alies to +estern Sahara"'rofessor Crawford, reviously cited, is one ofthe world&s most eminent =urists havin! draftedthe ome Statute for states"

There are indications that the interretation ofdilomats and officials of the various relevantlaws, and their willin!ness to aly them haschan!ed for the )etter over recent years" es-ite 6 scandalously 6 arovin! the fishin!

a!reement with Morocco last year, the (U isnow lookin! to aly its le!al o)li!ations as atactic to sto .srael from )uildin! any more set-tlements or demolishin! 'alestinian homes"Slowly, more initiatives are )ein! reared, in-cludin! new (U wide la)ellin! and )usiness!uidelines for .sraeli settlements" This ro-!ress could and should )e e;tended to +esternSahara" But the (U and mem)er states er-ceive they can aly domestic, (U and interna-tional law at will"

74


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.ndeed, as 'rofessor Crawford writes in hisu)lic le!al oinion on state resonsi)ility and.sraeli settlementsA

3Finally, as a matter of realpolitik, the +uropean

nion has demonstrated political disinterest in

upholding the right to self-determination in re-

lation to the analogous situation in )estern$ahara. he recently-etended Fisheries Part-

nership (greement FP(2E entered into

*etween Morocco and the +uropean 1ommunit-

ies provides for fishing rights over the offshoreterritory of Morocco, including the unlawfully

anneed territory of )estern $ahara.6

The oen 5uestion is whether the Sahrawis and

their friends have the determination to holdolitical and )usiness interests to account and)rin! to )ear the threat of massivereutational, olitical and financial costs for)reachin! international law and colludin! withthe occuation"

75


19/23

"a*ing musi# for freedom

!y $ara Mc'uinness

I write this as a relatie new#omer to the world

of the Sahrawipeople..t was only one year a!othat . first set foot in the refu!ee cams" Beforethen . had heard a)out the Sahrawi situation)ut had no idea of the scale of the cams, withan estimated %%,%%% refu!ees dislaced intothe harsh desert of S+ l!eria, since $/04,sread out in five lar!e cams"

. was initially invited to the cams to teachsound recordin! for the Studio-ive ro=ect, aninitiative led )y UK charitySand)last" The)road mandate of the ro=ect is to e5ui theSahrawis livin! in e;ile with the skills and ma-terial resources to )uild their own music in-dustry in the cams" . discovered early on, thatmusic has layed an imortant role in e;ress-in! the cause of self-determination for theSahrawi eole" So far, very little of their musichas mana!ed to reach international audiencesand Studio-ive hoes to hel chan!e that"

Since my first visit in ecem)er %$, . havehad the rivile!e of !oin! )ack to the cams

three times to contri)ute towards )uildin!sound recordin! skills in the communitythrou!h short trainin! workshos" urin!these action-acked visits . have for!ed friend-shis, develoed a stron! raort with my stu-dents and met many wonderful and talentedmusicians"

The Studio-ive ro=ect has evolved out of thecharity director&s lon! -standin! relationshiwith the refu!ee community and the workSand)last has done to romote Sahrawi music

and its musicians since its creation in %%1"There are several strands to the Studio-ivero=ect, of which the sound recordin! trainin!that . am involved with, is )ut one"

The ro=ect kicked off in %$% with a series offundraisin! and awareness raisin! activities inthe UK" iscussions with the Ministry of Cul-ture in the cams determined that the first steshould )e the rovision of live sound trainin!

and a decent concert '" To this end, Sand)last

for!ed a link with another UK charity 6 #air-

tunes - to deliver the trainin! and source a-roriate sound e5uiment" .n early %$$, acomrehensive ' was delivered in a donatedvan and three live sound courses have )een

!iven to some $1 students since %$" .t wasdecided that, once the live sound trainin! wasesta)lished, work would )e!in on the studiotrainin!"

:n my first tri . was accomanied )y a !roufrom Sand)last and BBC =ournalist o)ineneslow, who was !oin! out to roduce theBBC adio * ro!ramme $tudio in the $and"urin! my stay, . had the chance to assess thelevel of studio trainin! re5uired and meet o-tential students and musicians" .t )ecame im-

mediately aarent that the Sahrawis werecryin! out for a means to record and documenttheir music" There is a ervasive fear that a lotof their music knowled!e and history is )ein!lost as leadin! artists die out without )ein! re-corded" . also found there was a lar!e )ody ofeole keen to !ain skills in sound recordin!"

:ne of the main concerns we faced was how todeliver the trainin! in a manner that would en-sure a hi!h enou!h level of e;ertise was de-veloed for the Sahrawis to )e self-sufficient"

Both sound recordin! and live sound are areasthat re5uire a certain deth of knowled!e" .naddition, as ractical su)=ects, they can only )ethorou!hly learned throu!h continuin! hands-on ractice" .t was decided that, for the studiotrainin!, . would initially teach a core !rou ofstudents who could eventually !o on to trainothers"

These days, with the constant technolo!ical ad-vancements, there are numerous otions for a)asic recordin! set u" The e5uiment that .was !iven to teach on was a comuter-)asedsystem )ased around a $? inch Mac )ook witha minimal amount of e5uiment and a limitedran!e of microhones, which - thanks to fun-draisin! and donations - is slowly e;andin!"

The first trainin! course took lace over thecourse of two weeks in ril %$?" s the ro-=ect had no remises, we situated ourselves inthe newly esta)lished music school in the smal-lest cam of Bou=dour 2reviously known as

#e)ruary 03" .t had the )are shells of tworooms that had )een desi!nated for a recordin!

76
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20/23

studio" +orkin! there was a mi;ed )lessin!"Bein! on the outskirts of the cam, the electri-city suly was e;tremely oor with constantower cuts" .t was also 5uite a trek for the stu-

dents to !et to class and, even more tryin!,sta!!er home under the midday sun"

The rooms we were workin! in were )are,s5uare rooms with tiled floors, full of hard re-flective surfaces 6 ro)a)ly =ust a)out theworst environment for recordin!"


21/23

ive team is confrontin! issues of racism andse;ism in society" This is forcin! the ro=ect toaddress these challen!es and en!a!e localsources in educational activism to find effective

solutions"nother imortant dimension in the sound re-cordin! trainin! rocess involves educatin! themusicians as much as the sound en!ineers" e-cordin! is a skill that even the most e;eri-enced musician needs to develo" The ro=ecthas )een endeavourin! to work with a wideran!e of the Sahrawi musicians, not only to de-velo the skills of the en!ineerin! team )utalso to increase the e;erience of the musiciansin the recordin! environment"

.t has )een encoura!in! to see the interest inthe ro=ect and the willin!ness to articiateon the art of the musicians"


22/23

&ou 'raa

71 ordai

99


23/23

ou 'raa has many resonances for the Sahrawis% The (elated discovery of $hos$hates en)

coura"ed the S$anish colonial re"ime to ta*e an interest in the interior of the territory

where hitherto it had (arricaded itself in coastal enclaves+ venturin" out to launch $unitivecam$ai"ns a"ainst local fi"hters% ,nd the mineral wealth was a ma#or factor in -orocco.s de)

termination to sei/e the Western Sahara and dominate the "lo(al $hos$hate mar*et% So &ou

'raa sym(olises colonial $lunder%

&

&ut it also sym(olises resistance% The sa(ota"e of the conveyor (elt carryin" ore to ayoune

ort is one of the "reat stories of the early years of anti)colonial resistance+ well recounted (y

one of its $rota"onists% The do""edness of the remainin" Sahrawi miners in the face of -oroc)

can discriminatory em$loyment $ractices is a sym(ol of steadfastness and the $ensions $aid to

former miners (y S$ain are an im$ortant source of income in the cam$s%

,nd &ou 'raa is also a (eacon% The $hos$hate wealth $lundered (y others can (ecome an im)$ortant source of forei"n revenue earnin"s for an inde$endent state%

The route to &ou 'raa sna*es away from the main road (etween ayoune and Smara+ leadin"

dee$ into the desert+ mar*ed out (y the $illars su$$ortin" the conveyor (elt mile after mile%

ou do not wal* (eside the road or close to the conveyor (elt for fear of the anti)$ersonnel

mines laid down lon" a"o+ their location unrecorded%

Once at the mine+ all sense of $ers$ective is challen"ed% very thin" is (i""er (y far than outside

of this white+ dust drenched hidden world where all natural features have (een scra$ed and

dra""ed away% 5n the (urnin" heat and the (lindin" "lare+ tiny fi"ures move amon"st "iant ma)

chines in a (arren landsca$e% nterin" the o$en cast $hos$hate mine in &ou 'raa is li*e ste$)

$in" on to an off)world film set for a sci)fi movie%

Gar"antuan dra"lines $lou"h the "round+ "ou"in" several metres dee$% Some 3mn tonnes a

year are stri$$ed from a 3+000 acre site% -ore outsi/ed machinery $iles u$ s$oil hea$s+ drills

holes+ or dum$s the usa(le de$osits on to the lon"est conveyor (elt in the world that runs

do/ens of miles to the ,tlantic and can carry 2+000 tonnes an hour%

6rom the shore+ a #etty stretches far out into water dee$ enou"h for (ul*ers to moor alon"side

to receive their car"oes of $hos$hate%

The scale of the machines and infrastructure is im$ressive even in the vast em$tiness of the

surroundin" hammada, and their si/e hints at the 7uantity of $hos$hate roc* needed (efore it

can (e $rocessed into fertiliser%

&ou 'raa8s annual $roduction+ set to $ea* in 2030+ not only contri(utes healthily to the -oroc)

can economy (ut also furthers its $olitical levera"e with tradin" $artners% -orocco has always

tried to dissuade such countries from reco"nisin" Western Sahara and+ "iven that -orocco is

one of three countries that share 9:; of *nown $hos$hate reserves+ the $olicy has met with

some success% That said+ so has the do""ed cam$ai"n to $ersuade and shame com$anies out of

ta*in" Sahrawi $hos$hates from the -oroccan state mar*eter%

Documents

Western Sahara Review/Revista del Sahara Occidental 3