Bardem's 'Sons' closes Japan, Spain

Wild Bunch-sold docu to bow on 20 screens in Spain

By JOHN HOPEWELL

Bardem

'Sons of the Clouds: The Last Colony'

MADRID Wild Bunch has initiated major territory sales on Alvaro Longoria's documentary "Sons of the Clouds," produced by Javier Bardem, closing Japan with Comstock.

In a separate deal, Spain's Wanda Films will release "Sons" on 20 prints in major cities on May 18 -- a muscular theatrical roll-out for a docu-feature in the country.

Cameo will handle Spanish DVD distribution, arthouse indie service Filmin and other Spanish platforms will guide its VOD launch.

Longoria's directorial debut explains how the Morocco-annexed Western Sahara ended up as Africa's last colony, leaving 200,000 Saharawis living in desert refugee camps, mostly in South-West Algeria.

Elena Anaya, star of Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Live In," will provide the Spanish voiceover. An as yet undisclosed celebrity will supply the voiceover for the English-language release, Longoria said.

"Javier Bardem's media presence gives the film more possibilities, and the Western Sahara's plight has had large repercussions in Spain," said Miguel Morales, at Wanda Films.

Doc world preemed as a Berlinale Special at February's Berlin Film Festival and will screen at the Cannes market, which kicks off May 16.

Bardem appears in the film as its producer, attempting in vain to score interviews with Moroccan authorities, and explaining to camera his interest in the Sahara.

"Sons" is produced by Bardem's Pinguin Films, Longoria's Morena Films and Candescent Films in the U.S.

"The Western Sahara is a specific case. But the film also shows the realpolitik practised by democratic countries, which mean human rights are not a priority in international diplomacy," Longoria said.

Mariem Hassan - El Aaiun Egdat / a RootsWorld review of World Music

Mariem Hassan
El Aaiún Egdat (El Aaiun on Fire)
Nubenegra

Mariem Hassan, who spent much of her life in an Algerian refugee camp, until moving to Spain 10 years ago, is from a family of Western Saharan nomads, the saharawi, and her music draws from the poetry and intense repetitive drones of the desert. In fact, her last LP, Shouka, dug deep into guitar-driven sand dune stomps that dispensed with much of the western additives and gave the best of the current crop of “desert rock” bands a run for their collective money. Yet, with El Aaiún Egdat (El Aaiun is the Western Sahara’s largest city; Egdat means 'on fire'), the bluesy-bent note guitar fills, as well as the woodwinds of Gabriel Flores dominate, much to the frustration of anyone who fell in love with her via Shouka. But then it’s never been Hassan’s plan to produce typical saharawi guitar music, much less make the same record twice. She co-composes the tunes, and her lyrics often deal with the issues of Western Saharan autonomy, praise of the Arab Spring or occasionally, lost love and the loneliness that comes with it. “Ana Saharauia” (I am Saharawi) oddly enough is as close to late night cocktail jazz as she’s ever come, with a suspended upright bass figure, sax and incredibly smooth guitar fills. Her voice, known for its fire, is even subdued here. It’s seems ironic that she’d declare her roots over music imported from the ever pervasive west, but then perhaps she’s simply subverting such influence.

This isn’t to say her nomadic heritage doesn’t rear its head. Tracks such as “Gdeim Izik” represent classic desert electric guitar trance, as the riff builds over ululations, hand percussion, while Hassan’s voice wails in a warning to Moroccans who think they can sleep at night with the security that the Sahara is theirs. Here, the guitar tones are deep with distortion. And the blues, which is so connected to Saharan guitar music, appears as well. “Tarham ya Allah Shuhada” percolates steadily, and even includes some incredibly tasty harmonica. El Aaiún Egdatsaves its most severe track for last, however. “Siyant Laydad,” is arguably a blues, but its sonics border on experimentalism not usually associated with Saharawi music. Again, the track is a loping blues drone, but this time, sampled mbira, overloaded guitars and saxophone slither in and out of the groove, as Hassan’s voice becomes an anchor in a gale. The tune is consciously psychedelic, but nonetheless brutal because of it. It’s also a hell of a record closer. While this nearly 70-minute long disc is frustrating uneven, it’s rarely tasteless, and the best of it shows why Hassan merits a hard won position in a scene dominated by men. - Bruce Miller

CD available from cdRoots

UN Security Council Pushes Saharawi People To Resume War To Gain Their Freedom - OpEd

'

Written by: Pambazuka News

April 28, 2012

By Malainin Lakhal

The Security Council’s resolution 2044 adopted Tuesday 24 of April 2012 is an exact duplicate of the previous resolution 1979 adopted last year, with the only difference in mentioning few events that took place after the adoption of the last one, especially the organization of a seminar in Madera and reported progress in the implementation of the family visit exchange programme..etc.

The resolution, like the previous one, superficially touched the main question of current debate and concern: The serious human rights violations by Morocco in Western Sahara. Worse, the Security Council member states simply used the same paragraph used in last year’s resolution without changing a coma, which means that they opted for maintaining the status quo, and want to give Morocco another opportunity to keep up with what it is already doing: violating Saharawi people’s civil, political, social and economic rights with the benediction and protection of France.

South Africa, on behalf of African countries, has rightly denounced the UN Security Council’s attitude, which was influenced by the position of France and the fact that Morocco is a member of the Council this year.

South African Ambassador, Baso Sangqu, said after the adoption of the new resolution that “it is an anomaly that MINURSO is one of the few UN (peacekeeping missions) that does not have a human rights mandate,” Sangqu said. “This double standard creates an impression that the Security Council does not give priority to the human rights of the people of Western Sahara.”

He further estimated that “the selective approach to human rights by this council calls into question the motivation of those who have conveniently looked the other way while human rights abuses are committed in the territory of Western Sahara,” warning that if this continued, Security Council credibility would “erode.”

The UN attitude reveals a clear will to give Morocco an additional opportunity to control the situation in Western Sahara and impose its expansionist plans in the last colony in Africa in complete violation of international law and against the right of the Saharawi people to freedom and independence.

Despite of all international pressures calls and campaigns launched this year by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, many other human rights organisations, political parties, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the member states only “copied and pasted” the same paragraph they have already adopted last year in resolution 1979, and this fact alone is a proof on the superficiality and even deliberate ignorance of the serious human rights situation in Western Sahara.

The new resolution only “Stresses the importance of improving the human rights situation in Western Sahara and the Tindouf camps”, and encourages “the parties to work with the international community to develop and implement independent and credible measures to ensure full respect for human rights, bearing in mind their relevant obligations under international law”, in the two last resolutions this paragraph didn’t make any difference, because Morocco is still committing human rights violations in total impunity, and the UN Mission on the ground is still impotent and unable to monitor human rights and protect Saharawi civilians from daily abuses by Moroccan police and colonial authorities.

It seems that the Security Council is unwilling to resolve the last case of decolonization in Africa because of France influence and pressures. But the question is: Does the UN want by this attitude to push the Saharawi people and their political representative, POLISARIO, to resume war? It seems that this is the only option the so-called “international community” is leaving to Saharawis!

Malainin Lakhal is secretary general of the Saharawi Journalists and Writers Union.

الامين العام للرابطة العالمية للدعاة والمفكرين المسلمين لنصرة الشعب الصحراوي الداعية المحجوب محمد سيدي

"

انتقد الامين العام للرابطة العالمية للدعاة والمفكرين المسلمين لنصرة الشعب الصحراوي الداعية المحجوب محمد سيدي ما وصفه بـ"التخاذل" العربي والاسلامي تجاه الشعب العربي المسلم في الساقية الحمراء ووادي الذهب، وذلك خلال مقابلة تلفزيونية اجرتها معه القناة التركية في برنامج الالوان السبعة.

كما تحدث الداعية الصحراوي عن الدور الذي لعبته الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الساقية الحمراء ووادي الذهب "البوليساريو" في الجهاد ضد الاستعمار الاسباني "الصليبي" على حد تعبيره.

وفي سياق حديثه عن ارهاصات النزاع في الصحراء الغربية وكنتيجة للصراع الذي كان قائما بين الاستعمار الصليبي وبين العالم الإسلامي يقول المحجوب انه ما زاد من اهتمام اسبانيا بمنطقة الساقية الحمراء ووادي الذهب " الصحراء الغربية "وهو ما مهد الطريق امام سقوط هذه الارض الاسلامية تحت وطأة الاستعمار الاسباني غداة انطلاق موجة الاستعمار الأوروبي العارمة في اتجاه إفريقيا واسيا وأمريكا.

مشيرا الى ان الشعب الصحراوي واجه الاستعمار الاسباني لوحده ولم يتلقى الدعم والمساندة من احد ، ملفتا الى ان الاستعمار المغربي الذي اجتاح الصحراء الغربية بعد خروج الاسبان كان اشد بطشا وقسوة على الصحراويين مما سبقه، مبينا الاساليب المغربية التي لم يكن اقلها قسوة الجدار الذي يقيمه المغرب لتقسم الصحراء الغربية والذي يفوق طوله 2700 كلم ، ويقوم على حمايته 120 آلف جندي مغربي و240 مربض مدفعية ثقيلة، وما يزيد عن 20الف كلم من الأسلاك الشائكة وآلاف المدرعات، فضلا عن عشرات الملايين من الألغام المضادة للأفراد التي تفتك يوميا بالمواطنين والمواشي في المناطق الرعوية على ضفتي الجدار. كما اشار الداعية الاسلامي الى الوضعية الانسانية التي يزيدها هذا الجدار تازما من خلال التفريق بين العائلات العربية المسلمة الصحراوية. 

كما اشار الداعية الاسلامي الى ان زيارته الى تركيا تاتي بعد جولة قادته الى عدة مناطق اسلامية كان من بينها مكة والمدينة بالعربية السعودية وقطاع غزة بفلسطين من اجل تبرئة ذمة الدعاة والمفكرين المسلمين الصحراويين في تبليغ رسالة الشعب الصحراوي الذي يعاني الاحتلال وقساوة اللجوء والحرمان في ظل غياب النصرة الاسلامية والعربية وانعدام دور الجمعيات الخيرية والانسانية الاسلامية.

'via Blog this'

IUSY

Congratulations to our representative in the IUSY for the next two years 2012-2014 : Teceber Ahmed Saleh-UJSARIO- Western Sahara

Proud of you!!

United Nations Webcast - Ahmed Boukhari, Representative of Frente Polisario (Western Sahara) - Security Council Media Stakeout

allAfrica.com: Morocco: UN Security Council Pushes the Saharawi People to Resume War to Get Their Freedom

ANALYSIS

After bitter debate within the Security Council, and strong pressures from France to avoid any kind of progress in the resolution of the conflict in Western Sahara, the member states of this "non-democratic" international body adopted a new resolution completely void of any sense or reason.

The Security Council's resolution 2044 adopted Tuesday 24 of April 2012 is an exact duplicate of the previous resolution 1979 adopted last year, with the only difference in mentioning few events that took place after the adoption of the last one, especially the organization of a seminar in Madera and reported progress in the implementation of the family visit exchange programme ... etc.

The resolution, like the previous one, superficially touched the main question of current debate and concern: The serious human rights violations by Morocco in Western Sahara. Worse, the Security Council member states simply used the same paragraph used in last year's resolution without changing a coma, which means that they opted for maintaining the status quo, and want to give Morocco another opportunity to keep up with what it is already doing: violating Saharawi people's civil, political, social and economic rights with the benediction and protection of France.

South Africa, on behalf of African countries, has rightly denounced the UN Security Council's attitude, which was influenced by the position of France and the fact that Morocco is a member of the Council this year.

South African Ambassador, Baso Sangqu, said after the adoption of the new resolution that "it is an anomaly that MINURSO is one of the few UN (peacekeeping missions) that does not have a human rights mandate," Sangqu said. "This double standard creates an impression that the Security Council does not give priority to the human rights of the people of Western Sahara."

He further estimated that "the selective approach to human rights by this council calls into question the motivation of those who have conveniently looked the other way while human rights abuses are committed in the territory of Western Sahara," warning that if this continued, Security Council credibility would "erode."

The UN attitude reveals a clear will to give Morocco an additional opportunity to control the situation in Western Sahara and impose its expansionist plans in the last colony in Africa in complete violation of international law and against the right of the Saharawi people to freedom and independence.

Despite of all international pressures calls and campaigns launched this year by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, many other human rights organisations, political parties, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the member states only "copied and pasted" the same paragraph they have already adopted last year in resolution 1979, and this fact alone is a proof on the superficiality and even deliberate ignorance of the serious human rights situation in Western Sahara.

The new resolution only "Stresses the importance of improving the human rights situation in Western Sahara and the Tindouf camps", and encourages "the parties to work with the international community to develop and implement independent and credible measures to ensure full respect for human rights, bearing in mind their relevant obligations under international law", in the two last resolutions this paragraph didn't make any difference, because Morocco is still committing human rights violations in total impunity, and the UN Mission on the ground is still impotent and unable to monitor human rights and protect Saharawi civilians from daily abuses by Moroccan police and colonial authorities.

It seems that the Security Council is unwilling to resolve the last case of decolonization in Africa because of France influence and pressures. But the question is: Does the UN want by this attitude to push the Saharawi people and their political representative, POLISARIO, to resume war? It seems that this is the only option the so-called "international community" is leaving to Saharawis!

- Malainin Lakhal is secretary general of the Saharawi Journalists and Writers Union.

Sahrawi human rights campaigner to tour Australia

Thursday, April 26, 2012

By Ryan Mallett-Outtrim

Sahrawi human rights advocate and trade unionist Malak Amidane will visit Australia this month to share her experience of campaigning for justice in her homeland.

Previously a Spanish colony, Western Sahara was invaded by Morocco and Mauritania when Spain withdrew in 1975.

Today, 80% of the territory’s landmass is administered by Morocco.

Amidane will meet with politicians and union leaders to lobby for greater support for Western Sahara.

She will also present a public lecture in Adelaide on May 3 at 5pm, at the University of Adelaide, Lower Napier, room G03.

Ron Guy from Australian Unions for Western Sahara said this is a “timely visit from a forgotten region that has seen human rights continually abused.

“Malak Amidane is the first female unionist from the occupied territories of Western Sahara to tour Australia.”

She will discuss her first-hand experience of living under a military occupation, and the discriminatory regime that has marginalised the Sahrawi people in their own country.

As a long-term human rights advocate for Western Sahara, Africa’s last colony, Amidane has been subjected to horrific abuse by Moroccan security forces several times.

No country in the world recognises Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara, and the occupation is widely considered illegal under international law.

The United Nations says Western Sahara is Africa’s last non-self governing — or colonised — territory.

Organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused Moroccan forces of engaging in widespread human rights violations in the territory, mostly directed towards indigenous Sahrawi.

[For more details of the tour email auws.victoria@gmail.com. For details of Amidane’s visit
email SaveWesternSahara@gmail.com, or visit “Amidane in Adelaide” on Facebook.] 

Failed states are multiplying - Right Turn - The Washington Post

By Jennifer Rubin

There is a new and troubling trend in the Middle East and Africa: failed and/or nonfunctioning states. In March Anouar Boukhars of the Carnegie Endowment for International peace wrote: “The Western Sahara, a former Spanish territory annexed by Morocco despite Algerian objections, is a critical region that could quickly become part of the criminal and terrorist networks threatening North Africa and the Sahel. The undergoverned areas abutting the territory are becoming major hubs for drug trafficking, contraband smuggling, and weapons circulation. And Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is extending its reach in the region. The potential for destabilization is real.” There is a toxic combination of economic strife; warehoused Western Saharans in Algerian camps run by the militant liberation group the Polisario Front; easy access to weapons; and drug running and human trafficking where terrorists recruit refugees from the camps, foreigners are subject to kidnapping for ransom, and the AQIM becomes further entrenched in the area. Boukhars sums up:

The undergoverned areas abutting the Western Sahara, especially northern Mauritania and the Polisario-administered camps in southwest Algeria, are becoming major hubs for drug trafficking, the smuggling of contraband, and the circulation of weapons. There is growing evidence to suggest dangerous connections between criminal organizations, AQIM, and the Sahrawi refugees in Tindouf. Such links are bound to deepen should the social and political conditions in the camps deteriorate further or if civil unrest plagues the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara.

Furthermore, young Sahrawis in the camps are becoming increasingly disenchanted by the failure of the nationalist agenda and upset by the perceived corruption and clientelism of the Polisario elites. The prospect that the Western Sahara will become even more integrated into the criminal and terrorist networks threatening North Africa and the Sahel is troubling to the United States and its European allies. Already, the Western Sahara conflict has undermined regional security cooperation and assistance. The hostility and distrust between Morocco and Algeria have been so destructive that the whole region has been dragged into a vicious circle of collective suspicion, counterproductive rivalries, and self-defeating policies.

This is not the only troubling situation. J. Peter Pham of the Atlantic Council recently detailed a similar predicament in Mali. In early April Pham wrote: “In less than two weeks, the West African nation of Mali has gone from being a rare oasis of democracy and stability to a near failed state whose troubles threaten to ripple across the Sahel where the security situation, always delicate even in the best of times, is especially stressed in the wake of the flow of refugees, fighters, and arms from the Libyan conflict last year. Moreover, the coup d’état by junior army officers not only overthrew an elected government but also threatened to undo a decade’s worth of patient effort by the United States and its European allies while creating a significant opening for al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate and other extremists.” The president, Amadou Toumani Touré, was ousted in a rebellion by a violent separatist group of Tuareg nomads “who seek to create their own state” from three Mali provinces and other countries. “The rebels’ Mouvement National pour la Libération de l’Azawad (MNLA) is composed of longtime Tuareg dissidents reinforced by battle-hardened ethnic kin who returned last year from Libya, bringing with them heavy armaments looted from the late Muammar Gaddafi’s arsenals.” Predictably, Islamists capitalized on the situation:

[F]ighters from Ansar e-Dine (“Defenders of the Faith”), a local Islamist militant group with links to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) led by Iyad ag Ghaly, a Tuareg chieftain whose principal objective is the imposition of shari’a, rather than self-determination—took Gao, capital of the neighboring region and site of the Malian army’s chief garrison in the north. Completing the trifecta on Sunday, Tuareg and Islamist fighters took the historic desert town of Timbuktu after Malian forces apparently abandoned their positions. In effect, Mali has been cut into two parts. And while the MNLA denies that it has connections to any Islamist movements, a number of reports indicate that not only Ansar e-Dine fighters, but also militants from the AQIM splinter group Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa.

Once again, the lack of functional state with sovereignty over the unstable territory has opened the door to extremists.

Egypt is another variation on the theme (which is also playing out in Libya and Yemen). There, an unstable regime, consumed by violence, political tension and economic failure, has for all intents and purposes lost control of the Sinai. And who should move in? Hamas, which has engaged in violent attacks in Israel, which in turn have resulted in new conflict between Israel and Egypt.

On Tuesday Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu described the Sinai as the “Wild West.” Reuters reports:“The open desert border between Israel and Egypt was relatively quiet for three decades after they signed a peace treaty in 1979. But the Jewish state says that since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising last year, Cairo has lost its grip on the desolate Sinai and tensions are rising. Earlier this month, Israel said a rocket fired from the Sinai hit its Red Sea resort of Eilat, causing no injuries. Last August, cross-border infiltrators shot dead eight Israelis, and Israeli soldiers repelling the attack accidentally killed five Egyptian guards.”

I asked Peter Pham what can be done. He said that the Mali events show “you can get some very strange bedfellows” who can quickly alter the situation. He speaks about Mali, but his observations are equally applicable to the Western Sahara and to Egypt. He told me that, given an opportunity, separatists will look to a mix of Islamic groups. Soon the array of violent characters is something “out of the bar scene in Star Wars.” In the case of the Western Sahara, he said you have scores of young men in Polasario camps within Algeria “who have nothing to do and a lack of opportunity and political freedom” who are held in camps, and thereby acting as ready recruits for violent Islamic and/or separatist groups.

He recommends that the United States engage more forcefully to bolster and reform regimes, helping countries to improve governance and economic development. He also said, “We need to stop spending money foolishly.” He points out that the United States is the biggest donor to the U.N. agency that runs the Polisario-controlled camps, which holds its occupants against their will. “We don’t even have an accurate head count,” he noted. We are nevertheless dumping money into camps that contribute to the noxious mix of violence and Islamic extremists. “It’s absolutely ludicrous.”

Today, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on “instability,” including the influence of AQIM in Africa. Perhaps the committee will explore how we wound up behind the curve, essentially blindsided by the Mali uprising and, more important, what we are doing to promote stability and stave off the dangers that flow from failed states.

اللجنة النيجيرية لحقوق الانسان تعرب عن انشغالها ازاء وضعية حقوق الانسان في الصحراء الغربية

الأربعاء, أبريل 25, 2012  futurosahara  

أعرب البروفيسور بيم آنكوي PROF. BEM ANGWE  المدير التنفيذي للجنة الوطنية النيجيرية لحقوق الانسان، أثناء استقباله اليوم الأربعاء 25 أبريل للسفير الصحراوي لدى نيجيريا الأخ أبي بشريا البشير، عن انشغال مؤسسته "بالوضعية المتدهورة لحقوق الانسان في الصحراء الغربية على ضوء الأحداث المسجلة خلال الفترة الأخيرة والموثقة من طرف كبريات المنظمات الحقوقية الدولية"، معربا عن دعم مؤسسته "لكل الخطوات الكفيلة بضمان احترام حقوق المدنيين الصحراويين وعلى رأسها منح بعثة الأمم المتحدة في الاقليم صلاحية ومراقبة حقوق الانسان والتقرير عنها بشكل محايد ودائم للهيئات الدولية"، مجددا، في الوقت ذاته، "استعداد منظمته لعب الدور المنوط بها، داخل اللجنة الافريقية لحقوق الانسان وفي المحافل الدولية للدفاع عن حقوق الانسان الصحراوي بما فيه حقه في تقرير المصير".

من جانبه، وأمام أعضاء المكتب التنفيذي للمنظمة، تقدم السفير الصحراوي بعرض عن آخر تطورات مسار تصفية الاستعمار من الصحراء الغربية مركزا على "الوضعية المزرية لحقوق الانسان في المدن المحتلة من الصحراء الغربية والسياسية المغربية الممنهجة الرامية الى مواصلة ممارسة القمع الاعمى بحق المددنيين الصحراويين واغلاق الاقليم في وجه المراقبين الدوليين ورفض النداءات الدولية المتتالية والهادفة الى توفير حماية دولية للصحراويين"، مشددا على أن "فرنسا، تتحمل مسؤولية أي منزلق قد يحدث في الصحراء الغربية بسبب اصرارها على دعم الموقف المغربي الرافض لمنح المينورسو مهمة مراقبة وحماية حقوق الانسان في الاقليم" ، مذكرا ، في هذا الصدد، "بعملية التفكيك الهمجية لمخيم اكديم ايزيك وما رافقها وتلاها من اغتيالات وتعذيب واختطاف بحق المدنيين الصحراويين". 
جدير بالذكر، أن اللجنة الوطنية النيجيرية لحقوق الانسان، مؤسسة رسمية تتولى مهمة مراقبة وترقية حقوق الانسان في نيجيريا، وكانت قد بعثت بوفد الى مخيمات اللاجئين والأراضي الصحراوية المحررة، فبراير 2010. 

في غياب أي ضغط .. الأمم المتحدة تبقي على روتينية تقاريرها الثل

أصدر مجلس الأمن الدولي بالإجماع القرار رقم 2044 لتمديد ولاية بعثة الأمم المتحدة في الصحراء الغربية حتى الثلاثين من نيسان/أبريل عام 2013.
وأهاب القرار بجميع الأطراف إبداء التعاون التام مع عمليات البعثة بما فيها تفاعلها الحر مع كافة المحاورين، واتخاذ الخطوات اللازمة لضمان أمن موظفي الأمم المتحدة والأفراد المرتبطين بها وكفالة تنقلهم بدون عوائق.
ورحب القرار بالتزام الطرفين،جبهة البوليساريو والمغرب ، بمواصلة عملية إجراء محادثات مصغرة وغير رسمية تمهيدا لعقد جولة خامسة من المفاوضات.
وناشد الجانبين مواصلة إبداء الإرادة السياسية والعمل في بيئة مواتية للحوار من أجل الدخول في مرحلة مفاوضات أكثر كثافة وموضوعية، ومواصلة المفاوضات برعاية الأمين العام دون شروط مسبقة وبحسن نية.
وجدد قرار المجلس تأكيد الالتزام بمساعدة الطرفين المتنازعين على التوصل إلى حل سياسي عادل ودائم ومقبول لهما يكفل لشعب الصحراء الغربية تقرير مصيره في سياق ترتيبات تتماشى مع مبادئ ميثاق الأمم المتحدة ومقاصده.
وبتبنيه قراره الاخير  2244  يكون مجلس الأمن الدولي قد خرج من تحت تأثير الضغط الفرنسي المنحاز للأطروحة المغربية  بشكل سلس تبدو معه طموحات البوليساريو ومنظمات حقوق الإنسان الطامحة لخلق آلية لفرض إحترام حقوق الإنسان في الجزء المحتل من الإقليم قد تكسرت على جدار التعنت الفرنسي، مايدعو الطرف الصحراوي الى البحث عن أساليب انجع لفرض هذا الخيار  الشرعي،  ومع ذلك فإن الموقف الصحراوي المعبر عنه بدأ متفائلا بشكل كبير  بهذا القرار الأخير .لكن المتابعون يرون أنه وفي ظل غياب أي ضغط فأن الأمم المتحدة تبقي فقط على روتينية تقاريرها السنوية حول الوضع القائم بشكل يثبت أن الهيئة لازالت عاجزة الى حد الساعة عن فرض منطق القانون الدولي  في هذه البؤرة من العالم. 
ربما يتمسك كل طرف بقراءة التقرير بالشكل الذي يناسبه لكن الواقع هو أن الإحتلال المغربي لازال جاثما على الأرض بينما تعجز القيادة الصحراوية عن فرض خيارات الشعب الصحراوي في الحرية والإنعتاق  وتتمسك بدولة المنفى كخيار يتناقض مع  تضحيات الشهداء وتطلعات كل الصحراويين في وطن حر ومستقل.

SA slates UN

April 25 2012 at 09:08am 
By Joe Lauria

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supplied

Baso Sangqu

South Africa on Tuesday night criticised a UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara for ignoring human rights violations in the Moroccan-controlled territory after Pretoria voted in the Security Council to extend the mission for another year.

SA's UN Ambassador Baso Sangqu blasted the council on Tuesday night for taking “bold steps” over the past 18 months to protect human rights in North Africa and the Middle East, but not in Africa's last colony.

“We have to ensure that the rights of the people of Western Sahara are not ignored and are equally defended with the same zeal and commitment,” Sangqu told the council in a clear reference to Security Council authorisation last year of military action to protect civilians in Libya.

Once again the Security Council failed to include a human rights monitoring group in the UN mission, known as MINURSO, Sangqu said.

“It is an anomaly that MINURSO is one of the few UN (peacekeeping missions) that does not have a human rights mandate,” Sangqu said. “This double standard creates an impression that the Security Council does not givepriority to the human rights of the people of Western Sahara.”

Sangqu warned that if this continued, Security Council credibility would “erode.”

“We see no reason, why the people of Western Sahara should be treated any differently,” he said.

Morocco annexed Western Sahara after Spanish colonial control ended in 1975. The Polisario Front launched a guerilla war against Morocco until 1991, when the UN brokered a ceasefire. It was supposed to lead to a referendum on independence that has never been held.

The Polisaro has alleged continued human rights abuses against the local population by Moroccan authorities. But the UN has failed to investigate those charges under pressure from Morocco and France, its former colonial power, Western diplomats say.

“The selective approach to human rights by this council calls into question the motivation of those who have conveniently looked the other way while human rights abuses are committed in the territory of Western Sahara,” Sangqu said.

He also took issue with what he said was political interference in Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's latest written report on the territory.

“I wish to raise my delegation's concern at the manner in which the report of the Secretary-General was prepared and finalized,” he told the council.

“Due consideration should be given to Article 100 of the Charter of the United Nations in the preparation of these reports,” he said.

Article 100 says that the UN Secretary-General “may not seek or receive instructions from any government” or organisatio outside the UN system.

The Polisario Front accused France and Morocco of pressuring Ban to remove criticism of Rabat in the report. France has denied the allegation. Morocco has made no comment.

“Morocco has made it a standard practice to interfere in the reports of the Secretary General,”

Ahmed Boukhari, a Frente Polisario representative, told reporters at the UN.

“This time it was very serious because the changes were made after the Secretary-General signed the report.”A Western diplomat backed up this view.

"It's certainly disappointing that the text that was

circulated by the secretariat ... came out in a different version, after lobbying by several member states," he said.

"I don't think that's good for the credibility of the secretariat."

"But it's still a hard-hitting report,” the Western diplomat said.

It is unclear what was removed from the report that angered South Africa.

The final version of Ban's report to the Security Council says numerous, "factors have undermined the mission's ability to monitor and report consistently on the situation" in Western Sahara.

These include “indications that the confidentiality of the communications between MINURSO headquarters and New York has, at least on one occasion, been compromised."

The UN's compound in Laayoune, Sahara's central city under Moroccan domination, is bedecked with 21 Moroccan flags and UN cars are forced to use Moroccan diplomatic tags, undermining the mission's neutrality, the report says.

When travelling to Polisario areas UN officials must stop to change the tags to UN plates, which the UN uses everywhere else in the world, the report says.

This "create an appearance that raises doubts about the neutrality of the mission," the report says. “In parallel, the Moroccan police presence outside the compound discourages visitors from approaching MINURSO in an independent capacity."

UN officials' contacts with outsiders is “controlled and monitored,” the report says.

“We are concerned at the restrictions placed on MINURSO,” said Sangqu, “particularly those measures that threaten to compromise its neutrality. We call on all parties to ensure that MINURSO is able to operate under generally accepted peacekeeping principles, norms and practices.”

Despite these reservations, South Africa still supported MINURSO because it believes it can still help bring about independence for the territory.

The UN mission must maintain stability, attempt to hold the independence referendum and inform the council of conditions in the territory, Sangqu said.

“South Africa will continue to support efforts to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara,” Sangqu said. - Independent Foreign Service

Security Council Extends Mandate of United Nations Mission in Western Sahara until 30 April 2013, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2044 (2012)

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE OF UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN WESTERN SAHARA

UNTIL 30 APRIL 2013, UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTING RESOLUTION 2044 (2012)

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations mission in Western Sahara until 30 April 2013.

Unanimously adopting resolution 2044 (2012), the Council called on the parties to cooperate fully with the operations of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), including its free interaction with all interlocutors, and to take the necessary steps to ensure the security of, as well as unhindered movement and immediate access for, United Nations personnel in carrying out the mandate.

Today’s resolution came on the heels of the Secretary-General’s 5 April report, in which he recommended the extension because the Mission remained relevant as a guarantor for the stability of the ceasefire and as a visible commitment of the international community to achieve a resolution of the conflict.

The Mission’s ability to fully monitor and assess the situation on the ground — in a total area of 104,000 km sq. — and to interact with the full spectrum of interlocutors was essential, as illustrated in the context of recent violence following a sports event and of evidence of “simmering community tensions” in the west, which the Secretary-General said was another consequence of the absence of a peace agreement between Morocco and the Frente Polisario and the continuing status quo, the report stated.

Expressing concern about the violations of existing agreements and calling on the parties to respect their relevant obligations, the Security Council called upon the parties to continue to show political will and work in an atmosphere propitious for dialogue in order to enter into a more intensive and substantive phase of negotiations.

It further called upon the parties to continue negotiations under the auspices of the Secretary-General without preconditions and in good faith, taking into account the efforts made since 2006 and subsequent developments, with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

Following the adoption of the resolution, Morocco’s representative said the text reiterated the importance and priority of the initiative of self-determination. 

“There is no alternative to negotiations,” he said.  “We will not move backwards.  Since 2001, we have thought that the referendum approach could result in tension in a society which is still seeking to find solutions by consensus.  We believe we will be able to live as neighbours in our neighbourhood.”

However, South Africa’s representative, also speaking after the vote, expressed concern over the resolution’s failure to more fully address human rights issues, especially in light of the Security Council’s recent bold steps in that field, particularly in northern Africa and the Middle East.

“The continuation of that trend will threaten to erode the Mission,” he cautioned.  Still, his country voted in favour of the resolution because of the need to resolve the Western Sahara issue in a peaceful manner.

The meeting began at 10:14 a.m. and ended at 10:30 a.m.

Resolution

The full text of resolution 2044 (2012) reads as follows:

“The Security Council,

“Recalling and reaffirming all its previous resolutions on Western Sahara,

“Reaffirming its strong support for the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to implement resolutions 1754 (2007), 1783 (2007), 1813 (2008), 1871 (2009), 1920 (2010), and 1979 (2011),

“Reaffirming its commitment to assist the parties to achieve a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in the context of arrangements consistent with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, and noting the role and responsibilities of the parties in this respect,

“Reiterating its call upon the parties and States of the region to cooperate more fully with the United Nations and with each other and to strengthen their involvement to end the current impasse and to achieve progress towards a political solution,

“Welcoming the efforts of the Secretary-General to keep all peacekeeping operations, including MINURSO, under close review and reiterating the need for the Council to pursue a rigorous, strategic approach to peacekeeping deployments,

“Expressing concern about the violations of existing agreements, andcalling on the parties to respect their relevant obligations,

“Taking note of the Moroccan proposal presented on 11 April 2007 to the Secretary-General and welcomingserious and credible Moroccan efforts to move the process forward towards resolution; also taking note of the Polisario Front proposal presented 10 April 2007 to the Secretary-General,

“Encouraging in this context, the parties to demonstrate further political will towards a solution including by expanding upon their discussion of each other’s proposals,

“Taking note of the four rounds of negotiations held under the auspices of the Secretary-General and the continued rounds of informal talks, andwelcoming the progress made by the parties to enter into direct negotiations,

“Welcoming the progress made by the parties in discussing innovative negotiating approaches and discrete subjects, their commitment to deepen the discussions on these and other issues, and the 9 November 2011 meeting of the parties on natural resources and progress made towards demining,

“Welcoming the positive conclusion of the 12-16 September 2011 UNHCR-sponsored seminar on Hassaniya culture and the agreement by the parties to hold two additional seminars in 2012, as well as the holding of a UNHCR-facilitated high-level meeting on Confidence Building Measures for Western Sahara on 24‑25 January 2012,

“Stressing the importance of improving the human rights situation in Western Sahara and the Tindouf camps, and encouraging the parties to work with the international community to develop and implement independent and credible measures to ensure full respect for human rights, bearing in mind their relevant obligations under international law,

“Welcoming the opening of National Council on Human Rights Commissions operating in Dakhla and Laayoune, and the steps taken by Morocco in order to fulfil its commitment to ensure unqualified and unimpeded access to all Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council,

“Also welcoming the implementation of the enhanced refugee protection program developed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in coordination with the Polisario Front, which includes refugee and human rights training and awareness initiatives,

“Reiterating the request thatUNHCR maintain its consideration of a refugee registration in the Tindouf refugee camps,

“Looking forward to the implementation of the updated plan of action on confidence building measures adopted in Geneva 24-25 January 2012, including the inauguration of family visits by land, use of new information technology to facilitate communication links between families, and the continuation and expansion of the existing programme by air, and encouraging the parties to cooperate with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in implementing their agreement,

“Welcoming the commitment of the parties to continue the process of negotiations through the United Nations-sponsored talks,

“Recognizing that the consolidation of the status quo is not acceptable, and noting further that progress in the negotiations is essential in order to improve the quality of life of the people of Western Sahara in all its aspects,

“Affirming support for the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara Ambassador Christopher Ross and his work in facilitating negotiations between the parties, welcoming his ongoing consultations with the parties and neighbouring states, and looking forwardto his regional visit in the near future, including to Western Sahara, as per the communiqué of the Informal Meeting on Western Sahara 11-13 March 2012,

“Affirming support for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara and Head of MINURSO Hany Abdel-aziz,

“Having considered the report of the Secretary-General of 11 April 2012 (S/2012/197),

“1.   Decides to extend the mandate of MINURSO until 30 April 2013;

“2.   Reaffirms the need for full respect of the military agreements reached with the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) with regard to the ceasefire and calls on the parties to adhere fully to those agreements;

“3.   Calls upon all parties to cooperate fully with the operations of MINURSO, including its free interaction with all interlocutors, and to take the necessary steps to ensure the security of as well as unhindered movement and immediate access for the United Nations and associated personnel in carrying out their mandate, in conformity with existing agreements;

“4.   Welcomes the parties’ commitment to continue the process of holding small, informal talks in preparation for a fifth round of negotiations, and recalls its endorsement of the recommendation in the report of 14 April 2008 (S/2008/251) that realism and a spirit of compromise by the parties are essential to achieve progress in negotiations;

“5.   Calls upon the parties to continue to show political will and work in an atmosphere propitious for dialogue in order to enter into a more intensive and substantive phase of negotiations, thus ensuring implementation of resolutions 1754 (2007), 1783 (2007), 1813 (2008), 1871 (2009), 1920 (2010), and 1979 (2011) and the success of negotiations, inter alia, by continuing their discussion of the ideas in paragraph 120 of the Secretary General’s report (S/2011/249);

“6.   Affirms its strong support for the commitment of the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy towards a solution to the question of Western Sahara in this context and calls for an intensified pace of meetings and strengthening of contacts;

“7.   Calls upon the parties to continue negotiations under the auspices of the Secretary-General without preconditions and in good faith, taking into account the efforts made since 2006 and subsequent developments, with a view to achieving a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in the context of arrangements consistent with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, and noting the role and responsibilities of the parties in this respect;

“8.   Invites Member States to lend appropriate assistance to these talks;

“9.   Requests the Secretary-General to brief the Security Council on a regular basis, and at least twice a year, on the status and progress of these negotiations under his auspices, on the implementation of this resolution, challenges to MINURSO’s operations and steps taken to address them, andexpresses its intention to meet to receive and discuss his briefings and in this regard, further requests the Secretary-General to provide a report on the situation in Western Sahara well before the end of the mandate period;

“10.  Welcomes the commitment of the parties and the neighbouring states to hold periodic meetings with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to review and, where possible, expand confidence-building measures;

“11.  Urges Member States to provide voluntary contributions to fund confidence-building measures that allow for visits between separated family members, as well as for other confidence-building measures agreed upon between parties;

“12.  Requests the Secretary-General to continue to take the necessary measures to ensure full compliance in MINURSO with the United Nations zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and to keep the Council informed, and urges troop-contributing countries to take appropriate preventive action including pre-deployment awareness training, and other action to ensure full accountability in cases of such conduct involving their personnel;

“13.  Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Background

The Security Council had before it the Report of the Secretary-General on the situation concerning Western Sahara (S/2012/197), which covers developments since 1 April 2011 concerning the situation on the ground in the Territory, the status and progress of negotiations and challenges to the operations of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).

In the report, the Secretary-General recommends the extension of MINURSO’s mandate for a further 12 months until 30 April 2013.

He recommends, therefore, an increase of 15 military observers to bolster monitoring capacities.  As the report outlines a series of challenges that demonstrate that MINURSO is unable to exercise fully its peacekeeping, monitoring, observation and reporting functions, he requests the assistance of the Council in reasserting the Mission’s mandated role, ensuring that the minimum conditions for its successful operation are met and upholding peacekeeping standards and United Nations neutrality.  He calls on the two parties to cooperate fully with MINURSO in achieving those goals. 

He says that during the reporting period, the three rounds of informal talks between the parties, their two meetings on natural resources and confidence-building measures, and the numerous bilateral consultations that his Personal Envoy held with them, confirmed that the parties continue to have the political will to meet, but not as yet to engage in substantive negotiations towards a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, as required by Security Council resolutions.

It is possible that changes in the regional political environment will provide new opportunities, the report states.  Absent a new framework, however, the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy will continue his established pattern of activities and encourage the development of new ideas