We support the international condemnation of the incursion of the Moroccan Army on November 13 in the demilitarized zone of Guerguerart, in the South of Western Sahara, on the border with Mauritania.
The result of the Moroccan military presence in the area has been the expulsion of 50 Saharawi civilians who had blocked the road since October 21 in protest at the continuous delays in holding the referendum on self-determination agreed with the UN in 1991.
Despite the ratification of these agreements in 2001 by the UN, showing its full support for holding a free, fair and impartial referendum on the free determination of the Western Sahara people, the reality of the referendum is far from being carried out.
Since 2007, no new UN resolution on Western Sahara has mentioned autonomy or a referendum. Nor has the UN Peace Agency been able to assess the continuous human rights violations committed by Morocco in Western Sahara (or in Morocco itself). It is quite suspicious that, of the 16 UN peace missions, only the one in Western Sahara, Minurso, does not have the power to assess the lack of human rights.
Other States such as Spain, the rest of the EU and the world continue to close their eyes and ignore the fundamental rights of the Saharawi People for more than three decades.
*Member of the Canal Gestión works council representing the General Confederation of Labor (CGT).
Lanzarote, November 20, 2020.
