Western Sahara

Policy background

Morocco invaded and illegally occupied Western Sahara in 1975. Since then more than 165,000 Saharawis have been living in refugee camps in South West of Algeria in dire conditions, and facing the threat of violence and imprisonment, waiting to return to their homeland.

The only just, legal and lasting solution is for Morocco to allow the Sahara people to exercise their right to self-determination, in accordance with the UN decolonisation doctrine and end its illegal occupation.

Policy

Socialist Alliance supports and campaigns for:

• The right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence and their call for the Moroccan government to respect their human rights in the Saharawi occupied territories, and to release all Saharawi political detainees;
• The Saharawi people’s call for the United Nations to proceed without further delay with the long overdue referendum on self-determination;
• The Australian government to:
  • Grant full diplomatic recognition to the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic  a member of the African Union and recognised by more than  84 countries;
  • Extend support for the Saharawi people in their struggle for freedom and independence, under the leadership of the Frente Polisario;
  • Declare illegal the exploitation of the natural resources of Western Sahara through deals made with the occupying Moroccan regime;
  • Provide all the necessary assistance to the UN in its efforts to organise a free and fair referendum for the people of Western Sahara.