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Stop the EU fisheries in Western Sahara!
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The EU is paying Morocco to fish in occupied Western Sahara. 799 organisations and 20.000 people signed this letter to the European Commission, 28 September 2010.
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Petition:
Stop EU fisheries in Western Sahara!


To the European Commissioner for Fisheries,

No state in the world has recognised the Moroccan annexation of Western Sahara. Still, the EU is paying millions of Euros annually to the Government of Morocco to allow EU vessels to fish in the waters of Western Sahara. The EU fisheries activities in Western Sahara must immediately come to an end.  

Morocco continues to refuse to cooperate with the decolonization process in Western Sahara, thereby defying more than 100 UN resolutions that insist on the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination. Simultaneously, Moroccan authorities commit human rights violations against Sahrawis who voice their political views. No EU states, nor the UN, recognise the Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.

In this context, cooperating with Morocco in exploiting Western Sahara’s natural resources is highly unethical, and clearly jeopardizes the UN’s efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

According to the UN, the natural resources in Western Sahara cannot be exploited without regard to the wishes and interests of the people of the territory. However, the EU is transferring European taxpayers’ money to the Government of Morocco for access to Western Saharan waters, without even consulting the Sahrawi people.

This letter was sent to the European Commission on 28 September 2010, and it is now too late for you to sign. If your organisation still would like to join in our protests to the EU, please don't hesitate sending a short mail to coordinator@wsrw.org and we will discuss what we can do together. The EU has the legal and moral obligation to stop subverting the UN peace process in Western Sahara, by respecting the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination over their land and their resources.

We urge the European Commission to put an immediate stop to the granting of all licenses to EU vessels fishing in Western Saharan waters, and we demand that no further EU fisheries operations take place in Western Sahara until a peaceful solution to the conflict has been found.

Yours sincerely,


Download the letter here, together with a list of the organisations, individuals and parliamentarians that signed.



The petition was published on 06.11.2009 and has now 20547 signatures.


The petition is closed for signing


The following individuals and organisations have signed the petition


Organisations (804):


 [ 1 ]   2    3    4  Next
Rafto Foundation, Norway
Finnish Peace Committee, Finland
Sahara Fund, Inc. (USA), United States of America
The United Nations Association of Norway, Norway
Fair Trade Centrums.r.o., Czech Republic
Voz do Operário, Portugal
Universidade Popular do Porto, Portugal
UMAR-União das Mulheres Alternativa e Resposta, Portugal
URAP-União de Resistentes Antifascistas Portugueses, Portugal
Tribunal-Iraque,Audiência Portuguesa, Portugal
Teatro de Pesquisa e Arte "Mandrágora", Portugal
Obra Católica Portuguesa de Migrações, Portugal
Marcha Mundial pela Paz e Não Violência, Portugal
SIRB-"Os Penicheiros", Barreiro, Portugal
Revista Latitudes-Paris, Portugal


Individuals:


Latest signatures (Total 20547):
 [ 1 ]   2    3    4  Next
07.10.2010 : Alejandro Forcades Pujol, España
06.10.2010 : Mika Sjöberg, Finland
06.10.2010 : Lee Hoo, China
06.10.2010 : Abdala Abdelhay Brahim, Spain
05.10.2010 : Mikko Ahvalo, Finland
05.10.2010 : Francisco Domínguez Arévalo, Spain
05.10.2010 : MAALOUMA, TARFAYA-MOROCCO
05.10.2010 : BERNISE SOUAD, MOROCCO
05.10.2010 : Nelly Bonelli, italy
03.10.2010 : Paz Arias, Spaim
03.10.2010 : emilio tallafet librero, sevilla
02.10.2010 : Maria Teresa Valiente Escriva, España
02.10.2010 : Arnau Artigas Gonzalez, España
02.10.2010 : Atticus Artigas Escolar, España
02.10.2010 : Aragorn Artigas Escolar, España
02.10.2010 : Albert Escolar Valiente, España
02.10.2010 : Natàlia Escolar Valiente, España
02.10.2010 : Brigitte Escolar Valiente, España
02.10.2010 : Mª Pau Vila Pastor, España
02.10.2010 : khadija abdeddaim, Dakhla, sahara occidental
02.10.2010 : Marta, España
02.10.2010 : Christian Jürgensen, Denmark
01.10.2010 : 3azizi Rafik, Maroc
01.10.2010 : Tomás Pellicer Lorca, España
01.10.2010 : Rafael Oses Primo, Spain
01.10.2010 : Nora Howard, USA
30.09.2010 : Abdou Sidi Mohamed, Mauritania
29.09.2010 : EVA PILAR CHAVES LARA, ESPAÑA
29.09.2010 : PABLO GONZÁLEZ PÉREZ-CRESPO, ESPAÑA
29.09.2010 : guendouz abderrahim, morocco


Francesco Bastagli, former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Western Sahara, Italy
Frank Ruddy, US Ambassador, Former Deputy Chairman of the UN Peacekeeping Mission for Western Sahara MINURSO, USA


Parliamentarians (162):
 [ 1 ]   2    3    4  Next
Guido Milana, MEP, Italy
Senator Dan Boyle, Ireland
Sabine Wils, MEP, Germany
Patrícia Amarelo Domingues, Portugal
Fontaine Daniel, Maire d*Aubagne, France
Sabine Lösing, MEP, Germany
Margrete Auken, MEP, Denmark
Petra Bayr, Österreich
Boden Karl, Austria
Hansjörg Ernst , Switzerland
Thomas Fritzsche, Deutschland
Erkki Tuomioja, Finland
Jacob Söderman, Finland
Siv Holma, Sweden
Rossana Dinamarca, Sweden







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The EU considers to pay Morocco to fish in occupied Western Sahara. An EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement from 2013 would be both politically controversial and in violation of international law. The international Fish Elsewhere! campaign demands the EU to avoid such unethical operations, and go fishing somewhere else. No fishing in Western Sahara should take place until the conflict is solved.
عريضة لوقف النهب

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يحضر الاتحاد الاوربي لإبرام اتفاق غير اخلاقي جديد للصيد البحري مع المغرب في سنة 2013.

مرة اخرى، يعتزم الاتحاد الاوربي الصيد في المياه الاقليمية للصحراء الغربية المحتلة في خرق سافر للقانون الدولي. وقع هذه العريضة للتنديد بذلك.

"EU fisheries in Western Sahara must be stopped"




Western Sahara human rights activist Aminatou Haidar hopes for increased attention to the EU plundering of occupied Western Sahara.

READ ALSO

10.04 - 2012
Guardian: EU taking its over-fishing habits to west African waters?
15.12 - 2011
EU Observer: Morocco expels EU fishing boats
15.12 - 2011
BBC News: Morocco's fish fight: High stakes over Western Sahara
15.12 - 2011
European Voice: MEPs reject EU-Morocco fisheries pact
15.12 - 2011
Reuters: EU lawmakers reject Morocco fisheries pact






Human rights activist Malak Amidane denounces EU fisheries