Johannesburg, South Africa (ADV) – South Africa has once again avowed its support of the freedom struggle of the Sahrawi people and their right to self-determination.
This was said by the South African Deputy Minister for International Relations and Cooperation, Landers Luwellyn during the Western Sahara Side Event on the margins of the High Level Meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC40).
“For South Africa this principled support is cast in stone,” said Landers.
“During the height of the liberation struggle, Nelson Mandela developed a practice of politics in which moral force was the core element. This was about deploying human dignity against brutality and forcing oppression to yield ground. This kind of politics has a long history in anti-colonial and anti-racist policies.”
Minister Landers also underlined that it is time for the world to start a conversation about the manner in which the political and economic interests of the powerful are perpetuating the oppression of the Sahrawi people.
She further castigated the European Union for ignorance on Sahrawi people.
“It is therefore extremely worrying to note the recent decisions by the European Commission and the European Parliament which have ignored this whole body of legal jurisprudence and judgments. A case could be made that this directly contradicts Article 1 of the UN Charter, which calls for respect and peace among states and peoples. These decisions are driven by narrow national political and economic interests, and are taken with complete impunity and a shameful disregard for the rule of law,” she said.
A former Spanish colony, Western Sahara was annexed by Morocco in 1975. Since then it has been the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Morocco and its indigenous Saharawi people, led by the Polisario Front.
Western Sahara is a sparsely-populated area of mostly desert situated on the northwest coast of Africa and home to phosphate reserves and rich fishing grounds off its coast. It is also believed to have as yet untapped offshore oil deposits.
The Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), declared by the Polisario Front in 1976 and is now recognised by many governments and is a full member of the African Union.
© Bur-JHB – M.C – African Daily Voice (ADV) – Follow us on Twitter : @ADVinfo_eng
