Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about an issue to do with Western Sahara. What preceded this motion was violence that took place towards the end of last year. In speaking to this motion, what I want to put on the record is the general issue of Western Sahara and the Saharawi people. It is a matter that the United Nations is seized with, through the Security Council—it is that serious—and the Fourth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which deals with decolonisation. The Western Sahara is Africa’s last colony.

I have worked alongside the people of Western Sahara and their representatives, including Kamal Fadel, their representative since the late-nineties, to give support to their right to a self-determining process as supported through and by the United Nations through Security Council resolutions.

When I was a young law student—it was quite some years ago—and I studied international law, I was first introduced to Western Sahara and studied the case that was brought before the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion. It made it clear that the Moroccan occupation was illegal. There is further legal opinion from the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs that the exploitation of oil is also illegal, and it follows that the exploitation of any natural of any natural resource would be as well.

The Kingdom of Morocco’s occupation and behaviour has been described as obstructionist regarding the referendum. The UN has been trying to carry out a referendum for years, but it has still not happened. The Saharawi agreed, through their representative body, the Polisario, that they would have a referendum. It is unacceptable and unsustainable that this behaviour by Morocco continues. It would be better if it were done in an orderly way and in step with international law and the international community through the United Nations. With Morocco being in the occupying position, they can become the peacemakers and the ones that facilitate the prompt holding of a referendum of self-determination.

What I would like to see is the immediate and unconditional release of all Saharawi political detainees and the accounting of the disappeared; the lifting of the blockade imposed on the territory to allow access to it by independent observers and media, ensuring their freedom of movement and communication with the Saharawi; respect of the basic human rights of the Saharawi people; and the immediate end of the plundering of natural resources in Western Sahara. To the United Nations I would like to say this: dispatch immediately an independent international mission to the territory to investigate the events that took place at the Izik camp and expand the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara—MINURSO—to include the protection, monitoring and reporting of human rights in Western Sahara.

I visited the camps that people are talking about some years back. There are people who have been displaced out of the country of Western Sahara and they live in camps in Algeria. I went to Tindouf and travelled out to the camps, where a whole lot of people live. They are people in exile, people who are displaced from their homeland and want to go back—and, for people who are in exile, it can be very trying. I spent four days there. The Saharawi, through the Polisario and through their government, the SADR, are a member of the African Union. The matter is seized by the United Nations. There are over 80 countries that formally recognise and have relationships with Western Sahara. It is one of those matters that we can take quite a good stand on.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to rise and support on a bipartisan basis the motion presented by the member for Page. I have great respect for the member for Page, even though she may be misguided in her political orientation. I know that she has worked in the human rights field. I understand that in relation to Western Sahara in particular she has worked with my great friend Andrew MacLeod, now the director of the Committee for Melbourne. This is an important, real and profound issue.

I want to address three elements in relation to this motion: firstly, the issue of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and our abiding responsibilities; secondly, the course of history and the events that are currently sweeping North Africa and the Middle East; and, thirdly, the specifics about the action that is necessary to redress the wrongs that are currently occurring in Western Sahara.

Dealing with the first issue, we on both sides of this chamber are subscribers to, believers in and passionate upholders of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. It dates back to the immediate postwar period. The rights that are contained within that declaration include freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of worship. They are the great ‘freedoms of’. Then there are the ‘freedoms from’: freedom from oppression, freedom from arbitrary detention and freedom from having one’s life taken by a state authority. These are abiding and universal and I stand clearly and absolutely by the view that they are hungered for by people of all origins, whatever their race, ethnicity or circumstance. What we are seeing in the Middle East now has risen out of a deep folly. It is a deep folly, generally used by oppressors rather than by those who are subjected to oppression, to say, ‘We have local norms that mean that people do not hunger for democracy, independence or the basic rights set out within the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

That brings me to the great and historic events which are presently happening at this moment right across the Middle East. What has occurred in the last few days in Libya is a crime against humanity. Let us be absolutely clear that these crimes against humanity are building upon the waves of repression that have been in place for decades now. In Bahrain, there are deep and powerful questions to address. Right across the Middle East and North Africa, people are seeking the capacity to shape and control their own destinies. There will be challenges. In some cases, it is not certain whether the future is a drift towards a Tehran-style regime or towards the great success of our nearby neighbour Indonesia, which broke down the strongman regime of Suharto and democratised in a very effective way. There is a journey still to take there, but what we see is real and profound. That is the context.

Against that context, Western Sahara has been suffering significant human rights abuses. We could put it in the hypothetical, but it is real. We know this. The reports internally and externally make it absolutely clear. That abuse is accompanied by a desire for a negotiated independence. We must stand by our principles. There is no doubt about that. That is who we are as a country; that is what we believe in as a country; that is what we must stand for as a country.

I think there are two significant steps which must be taken in Western Sahara. The first is to ensure that, in light of the abuses which have occurred from November last year, on top of historic injustice, there must be an independent UN verification mission. We are in agreement across the chamber on that point. This verification and monitoring mission must examine and, if necessary, compile reports which may lead to higher prosecutions through the international tribunals. That is the least that we can do. We must push for that. More generally, there must be an ongoing human rights international commission in place in Western Sahara. That will be the strongest bulwark against abuse whilst we seek a long-term resolution. I commend this motion to the House.

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to start by thanking the member for Page for her motion on violence in Western Sahara. From my research on this, I know it is a very sad situation that has been going on for a number of years. It is very regrettable to hear of the recent reports of violence apparently conducted by the Moroccan security forces, who were supposed to be providing security and safe haven for people. It shows an astonishing lack of goodwill given the ongoing negotiations which are seeking to resolve this conflict. This conflict has been going on since 1975, when this former Spanish colony was annexed by Morocco, and it is now one of the longest running territorial disputes in Africa.

It is apparent from the reports and pictures that have emerged that the residents were shocked at the excessive force used against them by the Moroccan security forces. The result of the chaos that ensued was an eruption of violent clashes in the streets of the capital of the region, between the outmanned residents and the disproportionate force of the Moroccan military forces. Mohamed Beissat, who is a senior official from Frente Polisario, the independence movement, has been quoted as saying the security forces had used brutal force in trying to break up the camp.

This motion rightly calls for all parties involved, in particular the Moroccan security forces—no doubt instructed by the Moroccan government—to show restraint and recognise and honour the inherent human rights of the citizens of this region and continue to work constructively and peacefully to a resolution that allows the citizens of the Western Sahara region to have a say in their future.

Everyone in this region has a right to feel that their life is not at risk. They should have freedom of speech, of association and all the other freedoms that we enjoy. They also should not be subject to torture or to cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishments. We call on the Moroccan security forces to ensure that they are respecting these rights and the UN and the international community to hold them to account if they are not.

We encourage and continue to support the United Nations efforts to find an enduring and mutually acceptable settlement for this region. In order to achieve this, the views of all parties involved—the Moroccan government, Frente Polisario and others—need to be taken into account. In particular, the views of the citizens of this region need to be taken into account, as they are the ones who will need to live with whatever political outcome is negotiated.

It is heartening to note that the fifth round of the United Nations backed informal talks between Morocco and the independence movement ended on 23 January 2011. The talks were conducted over three days and were also attended by delegations from various neighbouring states. The UN communique issued following the talks advised that the discussion had taken place in an atmosphere of ‘serious engagement, frankness and mutual respect’. However, disappointingly, each party continued to reject any proposals of the others as the sole basis for future negotiations. The parties have agreed to continue their discussions in March.

It is heartening to note that there are recent reports that significant progress is being made by the UNHCR in their efforts to reunite separated families, some who have been separated for more than 35 years. This program has been run by the UNHCR for the past six years and has successfully reunited approximately 13,000 people out of a list of more than 40,000. We fully support the ongoing efforts of the United Nations and its agencies including Christopher Ross and urge all parties to continue the progress that is being made towards a positive resolution of this conflict. I commend the motion.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Page for this motion. It is a great first step in terms of getting an idea out there into the Australian community. Perhaps it could be a little strongly worded but it is a good first step. I also thank the members for Flinders and Forde for their contributions in the chamber.

As I am sure you well know, Mr Deputy Speaker Georganas, Western Sahara is the size of Great Britain. It is rich in mineral resources including things like phosphates and iron ore and has rich fishing grounds off its coast. More importantly, it has great potential for oil and gas reserves, and there, I guess, lies one of its problems. It has great potential and, as we all know, when something has value people throughout history have tended to fight over those values, and we can trace its history back as a Spanish colony, to the time it was invaded by Morocco in 1975.

I started teaching geography back in 1986. Even then there were parts of the atlas that still had cross-hatching, showing that this was a non self-governing territory, and every year since 1975, I suppose, it has been discussed by the UN in terms of how the area could be decolonised. The Frente Polisario waged an independence war against the Moroccan invaders until the UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991. The truce included the promise of a referendum where there would be some self-direction, but that has not happened, unfortunately largely due to Morocco’s obstruction. The Sahrawi Republic declared by the Polisario in 1976 has been recognised, however, by over 80 governments and it is a full member of the African Union. Morocco and the Polisario held four rounds of formal UN sponsored peace talks in 2007 and 2008, but they broke down in acrimony, unfortunately, due to Morocco’s refusal to even discuss the option of independence as one of the alternatives to be put to the people.

In my electorate we have a lot of Sudanese constituents so I have seen the joy that has come since the referendum where they had nearly 99 per cent support in one part of the Sudan for self-determination for an independent country. I look forward to 9 July when that new country will be formed, and so many of my Sudanese constituents will be so happy about that process. Unfortunately, it is not the case for Western Sahara. Since these discussions in 2007-08 there have been three rounds of informal talks, the last held in New York in November 2010. But still there has not been a great deal of movement on the 35-year-old dispute. There were further talks in January but we are yet to see a resolution.

As one of the co-conveners of the Parliamentary Amnesty International Group, I am particularly concerned—and the matter was touched on by the members for Flinders, Forde, and Page, I think, in their speeches—about the call for investigations into the deaths in the Western Sahara protest camps. Obviously, it is time that we called on the Moroccan authorities and put a spotlight on their behaviours so that we have an independent, trusted investigation into the events that led to a number of deaths and injuries at Gdaim Izik, a protest camp in Western Sahara. There are reports that nine people were killed including people from the security forces, and Amnesty International has received reports that camp residents were seen lying injured on the ground and some were bleeding and others had been burned. This obviously needs to be investigated. There are also suggestions that Sahrawi people were forcibly removed from the protest camp by Moroccan security forces.

I quote from Malcolm Smart, who is Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa. He says:

This was clearly a very serious incident and one that threatens to fuel further tension in Western Sahara.

This is the last thing that we need. He goes on to say:

The Moroccan authorities must launch an immediate, independent inquiry and get to the bottom of what occurred and consider asking the UN to assist.

For too long the UN has not fully engaged itself with this region and I think that is something that the UN needs to step up and change as quickly as possible. I thank the member for Page for bringing this motion to the chamber and for giving me the opportunity to speak on this topic that I care a lot about.

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.