Imorgon, den 30 oktober röstar FN:s säkerhetsråd om förnyat mandat för FN:s Mission för Arrangerandet av en Folkomröstning i Västsahara (United Nation Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara), MINURSO . I en tid då folkrätten utmanas på många håll i världen är det viktigare än någonsin att FN står fast vid sina egna principer och försvarar det västsahariska folkets rätt till självbestämmande.

Vi har tillsammans med andra organisationer undertecknat ett upprop/brev som bland annat kräver en fri och rättvis FN-ledd folkomröstning där ett tydligt alternativ om självständighet finns med, samt stärkt övervakning av mänskliga rättigheter i både Västsahara och de västsahariska flyktinglägren.

Avkoloniseringen av Västsahara är särskilt relevant just nu, då FN:s säkerhetsråd i år riskerar att stödja en process där utgången endast stärker Marockos auotonomiplan. Folkrätten kräver något annat: att det sahrawiska folket själva får avgöra sin framtid genom en fri och rättvis FN-ledd folkomröstning.

Hela brevet:

Appeal by Nordic Civil Society Organisations to the United Nations Security Council on Western Sahara
To the President and Members of the United Nations Security Council

We, the undersigned Nordic civil society organisations, urge the Security Council to ensure that its forthcoming resolution on Western Sahara upholds the UN Charter, the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and the international legal framework governing decolonisation.

Articles 1(2) and 24(2) of the UN Charter and common Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights establish the relevant principles. In its 1975 Advisory Opinion, the International Court of Justice found no ties of territorial sovereignty that could displace the application of self-determination through the free and genuine expression of the will of the people of the territory.

We call on the Council to:

Keep negotiations consistent with UN principles. Ensure that negotiations enable genuine self-determination and require regular reporting on progress towards that objective. A lasting peace must rest on the freely expressed will of the people concerned. We urge the Council to protect their freedom to choose and advance a peaceful settlement grounded in international law.

Uphold self-determination. Reaffirm that any settlement must comply with international law and reflect the freely expressed will of the Sahrawi people.

Avoid a predetermined outcome. Refrain from endorsing or privileging independence, integration or autonomy as a predetermined outcome. The choice of final political status belongs to the Sahrawi people.

Support a free and fair UN-supervised referendum. Ensure genuine alternatives, including independence, fair criteria for voter eligibility, participation by eligible Sahrawi refugees and safeguards against intimidation and coercion. The referendum envisaged when MINURSO was established in 1991 remains unfulfilled.

Give MINURSO an explicit human rights mandate. Provide for independent monitoring, investigation and public reporting, with adequate resources, unhindered access and protection against reprisals. Monitoring should impartially address the conduct of all parties and cover both Western Sahara and the Sahrawi refugee camps. Require all parties to cooperate with UN mechanisms.

Signed
The undersigned Nordic civil society organisations
Global Aktion, Denmark
Morten Nielsen
Björkåfrihet, Sweden
Maria Padrón Hernández
Afrikagrupperna, Sweden
Sara Almer, Secretary General
Solidarity Rising, Sweden
Benjamin Ladraa
Artikel2, Sweden
Brian Kelly, Secretary General
Praktisk Solidaritet, Sweden
Paul Carlsson, Chair
FN-forbundet, Denmark
Finn Reske-Nielsen, Chair
Emmaus Åland, Åland (Finland)
Robert Jansso