Statement on Western Sahara Prepared for Delivery to the United Nations Fourth Committee:John M. Miller, National Coordinator, ETAN

United Nations, New York, October 2009

Petitioner: John M. Miller, National Coordinator, ETAN

Mr. Chairperson, distinguished members of the committee, I thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network on Western Sahara. I also serve as the U.N. representative for the International Federation for East Timor. Both organizations were long active in support of the struggle of the East Timorese people for self-determination.

Five weeks ago, I was in the independent Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the "popular consultation" that brought 24 years of illegal Indonesian occupation to an end. Timor-Leste is now a member of the United Nations and addressed this committee in support of Western Sahara earlier this week.

Ten years ago, on August 30, the East Timorese people belatedly exercised their right to self-determination. – They voted in massive numbers, defying the bloody campaign of the Indonesian military and its militia proxies. In the face of threats of destructive retaliation that were soon realized, they expressed their preferred choice of independence.

In doing so, the people of Timor-Leste exercised their inalienable right and expressed their "passionate yearning for freedom" described by the UN General Assembly nearly 50 years ago in its 1960 declaration (1514 (XV)) on decolonization, which unambiguously declared that "all peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine political status…"

It should embarrass this institution – and all of you as representatives of United Nations member states – that this committee must continue to discuss the situation of Western Sahara. The discussion should have ended long ago, and its people should have exercised their right to self-determination.

The parallels between the situations of Timor-Leste and Western Sahara are clear. In 1975, within weeks, larger neighbors, defying international law and the UN Charter, invaded both countries as they were on the verge of decolonization. For decades, Morocco and Indonesia continued to brutally occupy and illegally exploit the resources of Timor-Leste and Western Sahara in defiance of UN resolutions. The invaders received weapons and diplomatic support from the United States and other powerful countries. Both colonies remained on the General Assembly agenda as non-self-governing territories. Both invasions were clearly condemned by the Security Council. Both peoples suffered horrendous human rights crimes, including torture, disappearances, displacement, and rape. Those who organized and ordered these crimes have yet to be brought to justice. This only encourages others to defy international law.

While in Timor-Leste, I participated in a conference, "Hametin Solidaridade: Luta Nafatin Ba Justisa," in English: "Strengthening Solidarity: The Struggle for Justice Continues." More than 200 people from 18 countries discussed the continuing need for justice and accountability for human rights crimes committed during the Indonesian occupation. Many of those attending had long been active in Timor-Leste's struggle for self-determination both inside and outside the country; others were young students enthusiastic to learn more about their own country's and others' struggles. The conference expressed strong support for an ad hoc international tribunal for Timor-Leste.

However, the focus of the conference was not only on the recently independent country. We also looked outward to ask where we and the East Timorese people should extend our solidarity to others struggling for self-determination, justice and peace. We felt strongly that others should benefit from the international solidarity extended to Timor-Leste over the decades. The Conference "enthusiastically endorsed" self-determination for Western Sahara.

I was recently forwarded a statement by the Timorese organization, MEC-TL (Movimento Estudante Cristaun Timor-Leste). They reject the Moroccan presence in Western Sahara. They call on France and Spain to consider the Saharawi voice for independence and call on the United Nations to give Western Sahara its referendum on independence.

The people of Timor-Leste have much in common with the people of Western Sahara. They – and those of us who supported Timor's campaign for self-determination -- hope those common experiences will soon include a genuine act of self-determination.

We urge Morocco and its allies to end their delaying tactics. The United Nations and its member states should fulfill its promise to support decolonization worldwide and more forward with Western Sahara's referendum

There is a truism: "Justice delayed is justice denied." The paraphrase, "Self-determination delayed is self-determination denied," is certainly as true. The people of Timor-Leste had their right self-determination denied for nearly two and one-half decades. The people of Western Sahara have been denied their rights for 34 years and counting. They should not have to wait any longer.

Thank you.

Statement on Western Sahara to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee by: International Platform of Jurists for East Timor

by:

International Platform of Jurists for East Timor

and

Stichting Zelfbeschikking West-Sahara

October 2009

Petitioner: Pedro Pinto Leite



Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates,

I wish to thank you for the opportunity to speak before this Committee on behalf of the International Platform of Jurists for East Timor; an NGO made up of 650 law professors, judges, attorneys and other jurists from more than 80 countries. I am also speaking on behalf of the Stichting Zelfbeschikking West-Sahara; an association established under Dutch law for the defense of the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

Mr. Chairman,

Last year at this Committee I noticed a smile on the face of many of the delegates when two petitioners for Morocco accused Polisario of “genocide and even cannibalism”. It is indeed amazing how far can Moroccan propaganda go, how ridiculous it can be.

Nick Brooks, a researcher in the field of climatic change of the Tyndall Centre, University of East Anglia, who works in the Sahara and the Sahel, became target of the hate of Rabat and of the supporters of the occupation since he started to turn his attention to the Moroccan propaganda machine. I vividly recommend everyone to read his blog ‘Sand & Dust’, where he analyses the key principles of such propaganda. The pro-Morocco petitions at this Committee scrupulously follow those key principles:

- they avoid the issue of Morocco’s occupation, they don’t mention the referendum, but instead they portray Polisario as a separatist group driven by Marxist or Islamist ideology;

- they try to discredit Polisario through accusations of slavery, terrorism, fundamentalism (and, as said, accusations of “genocide and even cannibalism”), while Morocco is portrayed as a very democratic regime;

- they emphasise that independence is not realistic and that we are seeking to prolong the conflict, that we are thus prolonging the suffering of the people in the Tindouf camps;

- they state that the people in the Tindouf camps want to be Moroccan and are being held against their will;

- they portray the conflict as one between Algeria and Morocco, rather than between Morocco and Polisario, and insist on Algeria’s links to terrorists, communists and fundamentalists;

- they emphasize the “eastern-block” nature of the countries that have historically supported the idea of independence, hoping that this will help to discredit the idea of a referendum on independence;

- they accuse us, the Western Sahara solidarity groups, of being paid by Algeria, and portray us as a tiny minority whose views do not count;

- they emphasize the alleged benefits that Morocco is bringing to the occupied territory and accuse us of being ill informed extremists who are against development;

- they deny that Polisario controls a significant part of Western Sahara, portray this as a buffer zone set up by Morocco in cooperation with the UN and accuse anyone talking about the Free Zone of propaganda;

- they give the impression that the UN supports Morocco’s position and insist that Morocco’s autonomy plan is compatible with the right to self-determination;

- they invoke the views of the few who support the Moroccan position (the case of van Walsum), but dismiss views from international bodies when they appear to support the holding of a referendum or the idea of independence: for instance, they see the original UN resolutions on Western Sahara as irrelevant;

- they dismiss countries that recognise the Saharawi Republic as irrelevant, usually Marxist, regimes and, needless to say, they are silent about the position of the African Union;

- they portray the conflict as a hangover from the Cold War rather than a conflict about decolonisation.

Mr. Chairman,

Unfortunately for Morocco and its supporters, facts are stubborn things:

* the fact is that part of the territory of Western Sahara is illegally occupied by Morocco and another part is under the total control of Polisario;
* the fact is that more than 80 states recognise the Saharawi Republic;
* the fact is that the Saharawi Republic is a member of the African Union and it was even elected as its vice-president;
* the fact is that more than 100 UN resolutions supported the right to self-determination of the Saharawi people;
* the fact is that Morocco refuses a referendum that would solve the problem once and forever;
* the fact is that an autonomy plan without the option of independence is contrary to international law;
* the fact is that many Moroccans are involved in terrorist attacks, and no Saharawi;
* the fact is that the report of Human Rights Watch of December 2008 denounced once more the violations committed by Morocco in the occupied territory, disproved Rabat’s accusation that the Saharawi refugees of Tindouf are hostages of Polisario and recommended the UN Security Council to expand the mandate of MINURSO to include human rights monitoring;
* the fact is that the Amnesty International report of 2009 also denounced the serious human rights violations committed by Morocco in Western Sahara;
* the fact is that the report of the European Parliament ad hoc delegation that visited the occupied territory and the refugee camps recognized the reality of systematic violations of human rights committed by Morocco, considered the denial of the Saharawis’ right to self-determination as the root of all those violations and also proposed that MINURSO’s mandate include human rights monitoring;
* the fact is that this conflict is a matter of decolonisation, if not it would not be discussed in this Committee.



Thank you, Mr. Chairman