The Plenary of the Cabildo of Lanzarote has approved this Friday two motions in which the international community is asked to stop the plundering of the natural resources of Western Sahara. The first was presented by Somos Lanzarote, which already took a similar initiative to the Teguise City Council, and the second was registered as a motion as a matter of urgency by CC, although Somos finally agreed to unify them and vote on them jointly.
The document, which has the support of all the groups with representation in the first Island Institution, except Ciudadanos and the PIL, which have abstained, proposes to remind the different public administrations that there are several rulings by European courts, including the one issued on December 21, 2016 on the natural resources of that territory, as well as UN resolutions, which reflect that Europe cannot trade with the resources of Western Sahara without the prior consent of the Saharawi people.
In addition, the motions suggest raising a request for European law to be applied as quickly as possible in everything that affects the traffic of goods of any origin that leave or access that territory.
In addition, thanks to these agreements, the Cabildo of Lanzarote will urge the State Government to express a more active position in the defense of the resolutions of the United Nations Organization (UN) on the holding of the self-determination referendum, respect for the human rights of the population, and the end of the plundering of natural resources and will invite international organizations to guarantee compliance with international law under the protection of the recent rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
With regard to the island of Lanzarote, these motions reject the extraction of sand from these territories for the creation of artificial beaches on the coast of the Canary archipelago. In this regard, the president, Pedro San Ginés, states that he has already held "contacts with companies that have expressed their willingness to extract sand from other places if the Cabildo considers it and proposes new alternatives".
