On 30th November 2006, the South African Human Rights (SAHRC) will host a Seminar on the “Human Rights Situation in the Occupied Territories of the Western Sahara”. The seminar will be held at the SAHRC Offices in Parktown, Johannesburg from 9h00 to 13h30.
The objectives of the Seminar are to:
1. Assist in raising awareness about the human rights violations in the occupied territories of the Western Sahara, and thereby raise its profile in the media and other human rights lobby groups and civil society structures in South African;
2. Contribute to the calls to the international community to extend the mandate of the UN Mission in the Western Sahara, MINURSO, to include the protection and promotion of human rights.
Western Sahara has been classified by the United Nations as a “non-self-governing territory”. Since 1976, this territory has been under the occupation and administration of Morocco, which claims sovereignty over the territory. This is in contravention of the UN decolonisation procedures and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that found no legal ties of such a nature as might affect the decolonization of the Western Sahara and, in particular, of the principle of self-determination through the free and genuine expression of the will of the peoples of the Territory.
The human rights situation in the occupied territories of the Western Sahara is of great concern to the SAHRC as the Saharawi people are denied their right to self-determination. In the occupied areas, the Saharawi people continue to endure human rights abuses, including murder, torture, disappearance and intimidation. Saharawi refugees remain in camps facing hostile desert conditions and are reliant on UNHCR aid programs.
The key-note speaker will be Mr Ali Salem Tamek, a Saharawi political leader and ex-political prisoner, recognised as such by many international human rights organisations, such as Amnesty International, the International Bureau for the Respect of Human Rights in the Western Sahara, the International Federation of Human Rights, the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, the Moroccan Forum of Truth and Justice, etc
For all media queries, please contact Ms Lorraine Molepo at the following:
Tel: (011) 4848 300 ext 2092
Fax: (011) 643 6472
E-mail: lmolepo@sahrc.org.za
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