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Africa News afrol News
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Africa News afrol News
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afrol.com, 26 September - The UN debate on decolonisation of Western Sahara goes on, without producing results. While the UN Decolonisation Committee is dreaming about another symbolic "International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism", Morocco, the occupant of Western Sahara, is questioning UN competence on the Sahrawi issue. Rhetoric, as usual, was tremendous on the United Nations conference of decolonisation, or as it is called by the UN diplomatic corps, the "Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonisation)". The conference hailed its successes and defined its programme for the coming session. As it has been for decades, Western Sahara was on the list of "Non-Self-Governing Territories" (UN terminology for areas occupied or colonised by foreign nations). The Chinese delegate, Shen Guofang, stated that while the First International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism had ended with encouraging achievements, the goal of decolonisation remained an urgent task. On 20 July 2000, the Special Committee had passed a resolution proposing that the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly declare the decade from 2001 to 2010 to be the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. China warmly endorsed that proposal. China itself occupies and suppressed the nation of Tibet and several others, but has achieved, due to its geopolitical strength and many allies, to keep Tibet off the list of "Non-Self-Governing Territories". Most participating states hailed the symbolic gesture to create a second decade of decolonisation. Meanwhile, the situation in Africa's last colony remains unchanged. Morocco has occupied Western Sahara since Spain pulled out in1975. The United Nations has had authority to organise a referendum about the status of Western Sahara since 1991. Morocco has consistently obstructed the process of organising this referendum. The UN has now been in Western Sahara for ten years and spent over US$ 550 million. Yet the Sahrawis are still waiting for a referendum of self-determination. The representative of Algeria, Abdallah Baali, a close ally to the Sahrawis, called upon the UN Special Committee to use its political and moral authority to ensure that the peace process in Western Sahara led to self-determination. That process had been stalemated for several months, despite the efforts of the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy. The huge number of appeals by prospective voters to the referendum who had been rejected by the Identification Commission of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) was a major cause of the current situation. But, the Settlement Plan remained the sole process for the just resolution of the Western Sahara conflict. Morocco has been able to delay the referendum with demands on hearing each and everyone who could have a right to vote in it. After a UN mapping of voters, following an agreement by the parties, Morocco has been able to delay the referendum some 10 years with individual appeals for the right to vote. The UN has put itself in the ridiculous position of letting the occupants consolidate their position using the organisation as a legitimizer. In this context, it might sound strange that Morocco is calling the UN body for decolonisation incompetent on the Sahrawi matter. The Moroccan representative Ahmed Snoussi, however reiterated his country’s "unchanged position that the Fourth Committee was not competent to consider the question of Western Sahara. Morocco had recovered its southern provinces, called Western Sahara, following the opinion of the International Court of Justice and the Madrid agreements, which had ended the colonial status of Western Sahara. The self-determination referendum had been initiated by Morocco alone and was aimed at allowing all Sahrawi people to express their will about their future. Implementation of the referendum was at a serious impasse, due to questions relating to the identification process, repatriation and other issues raised in the Secretary-General’s report. It should be recalled that the original principle involved allowing the participation of all Sahrawis, as adopted by the tribal chiefs at a Geneva meeting in 1990 and as expressed in the identification criteria." - A great number of Sahrawis had subsequently been taken off the lists of voters, Ahmed Snoussi noted. "It must be remembered that Morocco was also devoted to the aims of the referendum," the diplomat claimed. "But, it could not be arbitrarily applied and must be implemented in conformity with the relevant agreements. Irregularities had stained the identification process, including various subterfuges to rule out some candidates. No distinction had been made between those who had and had not been included in the census to determine those eligible to participate in the referendum." Snoussi said some tribal chiefs who had previously petitioned on behalf of the other side and who had since returned to Morocco would appear before the Committee to describe the conditions in which the identification process had been conducted and the reasons for the rejection of most of Morocco’s candidates. That was the reason for the high number of appeals presented to the Identification Commission. It should be possible for a higher body to re-examine each appeal. - With regard to repatriation from the Tindouf refugee camps, Snoussi claimed Morocco was deeply concerned about the destiny of those Sahrawis who had been stripped of their rights. While the Committee heard the Moroccan representative share crocodile tears for the Sahrawi people, no one was doubting the renewed tactics of delaying, which in reality were proposed by Morocco. The UN will have to take it to account and act according to it, meaning that the Sahrawi referendum will be postponed for some more years, and might be undertaken in the third, fourth or fifth UN Official Decade for the Decolonisation of Sahara and some Island in the Pacific Ocean.
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