The EU is planning to enter a new unethical fisheries agreement with Morocco in 2013. 267 organisations and 16.189 individuals signed this letter to the European Parliament, 5 December 2013.
No state in the world has recognised the illegal Moroccan annexation of Western Sahara. However, the EU is from 2013 considering paying millions of Euros annually to the Government of Morocco to allow EU vessels to fish in the waters offshore the territory.
Morocco continues to refuse to cooperate with the decolonization process in Western Sahara, in defiance of 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.
The UN special envoy to Western Sahara has specifically placed the management of natural resources on the negotiating table to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. In this context, cooperating with Morocco in exploiting Western Sahara’s natural resources undermines the UN’s peace efforts.
According to international law the natural resources in Western Sahara can only be exploited with regard to the wishes and interests of the people of the territory. Despite of this the EU is now planning to transfer European taxpayers’ money to the Government of Morocco for access to Western Saharan waters, without even consulting the Saharawi people. It was out of these concerns that the European Parliament stopped EU fisheries in Western Sahara in 2011.
We urge the European Union to put an immediate stop to the plans of renewing the EU fisheries agreement with Morocco for Western Saharan waters. We request the EU to work within the framework of international peace, and to support the UN’s efforts to negotiate a solution to the conflict.
The Saharawi people have the right to be heard. No further EU fisheries operations should take place in Western Sahara until a peaceful solution to the conflict has been found.
The following individuals and organisations have signed the petition
Organisations (268):
[ 1 ] 2 3 4 Next MRAP Vaucluse, France Tomorrow Association of Human Rights, western sahara Association Amis du Peuple du Sahara occidental Avignon, france Association des Réfugiés Sahraouis en France, france Bibliothèque interculturelle, Suisse centre atlantique saharien des etudes stratégiques et de recherche sur le sahel et le sahara, sahara occidental Plataforma de Acción Internacional por los presos saharauis de Gdeim Izik, Estado Español ligue des étudiantes de Sahara occidental en france, spain Saharawi Natural Resource Watch, Western Sahara Bambini senza confini Onlus, Italia Assoc. Ixnous, Italia Unemployed Sahrawi Matser Holders, western sahara Radikal Ungdom, Denmark Equipe Media, Western Sahara Asociación de Familiares de los presos y desaparecidos saharauis, Sahara Occidental
Individuals (6865):
[ 1 ] 2 3 4 Next 05.12.2013 : kahn nicole, France 05.12.2013 : clavie lekati, congo brazzaville 05.12.2013 : mahfuda mohamed, sahara occidental 05.12.2013 : Maurizio Ambrosanio, Italy 05.12.2013 : Mariam SM, western sahara 05.12.2013 : Khadijatou Sahara, Western Sahara 05.12.2013 : Mohamed Bachir, Sahara Occidental Territorios occupados 05.12.2013 : Zhra SAHARA, Sahara Occidental zone occupée 05.12.2013 : mohamed bhaya, sahara ossidental 04.12.2013 : Victoria Gómez, España 04.12.2013 : Salek elbaihi, France 04.12.2013 : EL baihi sidi, france 04.12.2013 : Petra Schunke, Deutschland 04.12.2013 : Giannis Halkias, Greece 04.12.2013 : sidati chkired, western sahara 04.12.2013 : Petra Hassan, Allemagne 04.12.2013 : moutik khadija, laayoune occupée de Sahara occidental 04.12.2013 : ahmed sidahmed, sahara occidental 04.12.2013 : kaf sami, madinate anfa al mohtala 04.12.2013 : Esther Climent Fernández, Spain 04.12.2013 : Piera Stangherlin, Italy 04.12.2013 : dena salek, llibya 04.12.2013 : mulay mohamed, españa 04.12.2013 : jellab slah, sahara occedintal 04.12.2013 : Daniel Galván, España 04.12.2013 : lahmad ahmed, sahara occedintal 04.12.2013 : hayan hamza, smara 04.12.2013 : echarafi mohamed, western sahara 04.12.2013 : ali jelab, Sahara occidental 04.12.2013 : MY AHMEDA ECHTOUKI, LAAYOUNE
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.
