BAN confirms long-term contract

The New Zealand fertilizer producer confirms that they have a long term delivery contract with Moroccan state phosphate company OCP. The highly unethical agreement was signed in 1999. [Photo: Ballance board of directors] Ballance Agri-Nutrients has for several years been importing phosphates from the Moroccan state phosphate company OCP. But the trade has been violating international law, since the phosphates are not originating from Morocco, but from a territory which Morocco has been illegally occupying since 1975, namely Western Sahara. The UN states that such industries cannot take place as long as the people of Western Sahara is against it. For years, Western Sahara has been observing that Ballance Agri-Nutrients imports phosphates from occupied Western Sahara. In their 2007 annual report, Ballance admits that they have a long term delivery contract with OCP. The report does not mention that the phosphate imported from "Morocco" is actually not from Morocco, but from Western Sahara. The agreement was signed in 1999: It is a similar story in the phosphate market, which is facing strong demand for its products, according to OCP, the state-owned company responsible for producing and marketing all of Morocco’s phosphorite resources. OCP Sales Director Oceania/Southeast Asia, Najib Moutia, says that increased requirements for fertilisers around the world will contribute to a sustained growth in demand for phosphate products. “Furthermore, there are no significant new capacity projects planned within the next two to three years, until the commissioning of major mining projects in Saudia Arabia and Peru in several years’ time,” explains Mr Moutia. Mr Moutia says that since the mid-1980s when the two companies started trading, each year the relationship has grown stronger, resulting in a long-term contract being signed by both parties in 1999 for OCP to supply phosphate rock to Ballance. “This security of phosphate products enables Ballance to ensure the ongoing local production of superten for New Zealand farmers,” says Mr Moutia. “We are extremely proud of this relationship, which has made two geographically distant countries so close.”

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Amnesty international USA launches an online action in favour of Mustapha Abd Daiem

The US branch of Amnesty International initiated an online action in favour of the Saharawi journalist and imprisoned human rights activist, Mustapha Abd Daiem. The letter is addressed to the Moroccan government, and can easily be sent by anyone who would like to simply by filling his or her information to the form on the web page. Follow the link if you chose to send the letter, and you can also read the text below: ----------------------------------------- Morocco: Stop unfair trials of Western Saharan human rights defenders I am writing today to express my deep concern about the recent trial and sentencing of Mustafa Abdel Dayem, a Sahrawi human rights activist and a guard at the ‘Alal Al-Fassi secondary school in Assa. I believe that his trial was highly irregular and thus his current prison sentence is unfair and unjustified. The Moroccan Royal Gendarmerie arrested him on 27 October 2008 in his home in Assa without a warrant. Then, on 4 November, the Court of First Instance of Guelmim convicted him of offending the flag of the Kingdom of Morocco, rebelling and inciting an armed gathering, participating in the destruction of public property and participating in the contempt of public officials on duty. He was sentenced to a three-year prison term and a fine of 50,000 dirhams (approximately US$6,220). The sentence also leaves him unemployed, as it included a prohibition of practicing teaching or working in any educational institution for a period of 10 years. Mustafa Abdel Dayem and his lawyers insist that the record of his questioning by the Royal Gendarmerie (procès-verbal), on which his conviction was largely based, was falsified and different from the one he originally signed. Indeed, Mustafa Abdel Dayem was denied his right to be defended by legal counsel during his appeal trial. Mustafa Abdel Dayem, currently incarcerated at Inzegane Prison in Agadir. As a country that has made serious efforts to address its human rights record in recent years, I call on Morocco to address this serious failure of justice. To take action NOW and to start sending the letter go to: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=11625

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The students of the RCNUWC call on Fugro Geoteam to withdraw from Western Sahara

The students of Red Cross Nordic United World College (RCNUWC) addressed a letter to the Norwegian company, Fugro Geoteam, to stop withdraw their vessel “Geo Caribbean” from the occupied waters in Western Sahara. 3 Representatives of the students of RCNUWC, including a Saharawi student, also animated conferences in many schools in Oslo to talk about the Moroccan human rights violations in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, and its illegal exploitation of the Saharawi mineral rich territory. Opened in 1995, the Red Cross Nordic UWC is the United World College in the Nordic region. Sponsored by Nordic governments and the Red Cross, the College focuses on the promotion of humanitarian, environmental, Nordic values and concerns. The college is located in the beautiful fjord region of western Norway. It has 200 students, aged 16-19, all selected on merit from over 80 countries. Here is the letter: ---------------------- CEO, Hans Ivar Meyer Fugro Geoteam Hoffsveien 1C 0275 Oslo Norway Withdraw from the Occupied Areas of Western-Sahara! Flekke, 20th of January, 2008 We, the students of Red Cross Nordic United World College, decided to write this open letter to Fugro-Geoteam. Our school is an international school with students from 80 different countries, including Saharawi Arabic Democratic Republic. We would like to express our disappointment towards Fugro-Geoteam and demand that the company immediately withdraw their vessel “Geo Caribbean” from the occupied waters in Western Sahara. Western Sahara is today the last unresolved colonial issue. The area is a former Spanish colony and was relinquished in 1975 with a promise that a referendum on self determination for the Saharawi people would be held. That promise was not kept. Instead Morocco invaded the territory of Western Sahara, forcing the Saharawi people to flee from their homeland. Many of the Saharawi were killed, wounded and disappeared in the desert because of this brutal invasion. Today many Saharawis are living in refugee camps in the Sahara Desert in the southern parts of Algeria. This is one of the world’s most inhospitable places. On the 27th of February 1976, Polisario Front, recognised by the UN as the only representative body of the Saharawi people, declared the Saharawi Arabic Democratic Republic (SADR). Today SADR is recognized by more than 70 countries all over the world. The fact that Fugro-Geoteam is searching for oil off the shores of occupied Western Sahara is against all international law. According to the resolution adopted by the Security Council from 2002, it is illegal for an occupying power to exploit the resources of a Non-Self-Governing Territory without the consent of its people. Polisario has also considered the Moroccan oil search beginning in 2001 as a violation of the Morocco-Polisario agreements from 1991. After it was revealed in 2005 that the American company called Kerr McGee, which Norway had invested money in, had been searching for oil off the shores of Western Sahara, Norway withdrew its investments. Per Kristian Foss, who at that time was the financial minister in Norway, stated that Kerr McGee’s actions were a severe violation of fundamental ethical norms. It is therefore especially disappointing to see that a new, Norwegian company is involved in this kind of trade. The students of Red Cross Nordic United World College therefore demand that Fugro- Geoteam immediately stop searching for oil and withdraw from Western-Sahara. Sincerely yours, The students of Red Cross Nordic United World College. RCNUWC 6968 Flekke Norway

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Faroes’s Government supports the Saharawis’ rights to self-determination and over their natural resources

The government of the Faroe Islands supports the Western Sahara people’s right to self-determination over its natural resources. In January, a Norwegian news service discovered that a company from the Faroe Islands was involved in the exploration of natural resources in occupied Western Sahara. The Faroese company Thor Offshore is using one of their vessels as a supply vessel for the Norwegian company Fugro-Geoteam in the search for oil exploration. Such Moroccan oil exploration is in violation of international law as long as the people of Western Sahara is against it. Morocco has occupied the major part of Western Sahara since 1975. After the issue of Thor Offshore has been covered on Faroese TV and national newspapers for several days, on the 2nd of February, the Faroese Ministry of Foreign Affairs a statement on its homepages supporting the interpretation of the UN with regards to the illegality of the exploitation of the natural resources of Non-Self-Governing territories. "In light of the ongoing international debate about the legal status of Western Sahara, the Government of the Faroes has issued the following statement: The foreign policy of the government of the Faroes is based on the fundamental view that all nations should strive for cooperation and harmony in their relations with each other. The primary aim of the United Nations is to maintain international peace and security and the Government of the Faroes recognises that all nations have an equal right to exercise their right to self-determination. The United Nations recognises that the people of Western Sahara have the right to self-determination and the Government of the Faroes supports their desire to exercise this right in practice. The Government of the Faroes supports United Nations resolutions stating that the natural resources of Western Sahara should only be exploited and utilised when this is in accordance with the common will of the people of Western Sahara." The Faroes is an autonomous province of Denmark

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The DSCWS supports the campaign for the release of Mustapha Abd Daiem

The Danish Support Committee for the Saharawi People (DSCWS) sent a letter to the Saharawi Journalists’ and Writers’ Union (UPES) expressing complete support to the release of the Saharawi journalist and prisoner of conscience, Mustapha Abd Daiem. DSCWS also forwarded the letter to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Danish Parliament’s Committee for Foreign Affairs, Africa Contact Denmark, A World Associations of Writers, the PEN ( Danish PEN Centre), Amnesty International – Denmark, Danish Institute for Human rights, Danish Centre for Human Rights (DCHR), Danwatch, Human Rights Watch and the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims ( RCT )- Denmark. Here is the complete text of the letter received by UPES: ------------------------------------- The Danish Support Committee for the Saharawi People The Danish Support Committee for the Saharawi People ( DSCWS ) supports UPES for the release of the Saharawi prisoner of conscience Mustapha Abd Daiem February 07th, 2009 Mr. Malainin Lakhal General Secretary Union of the Saharawi Journalists and Writers ( UPES ) Saharawi Refugee camps Dear Malainin Supporting your Campaign to Free Mustapha Abd Daiem The Danish Support Committee for the Saharawi People (DSCWS) wants to express its support for the Campaign to free Mustapha Abd Daiem, a Saharawi human rights activist, journalist member of the Union of the Saharawi Journalists and Writers. On 4 November, the Court of First Instance of Guelmim convicted him of offending the flag of the Kingdom of Morocco, rebelling and inciting an armed gathering, participating in the destruction of public property and participating in the contempt of public officials on duty. In addition to the prison term he was fined 50,000 dirhams (approximately US$6,220). The sentence also leaves him unemployed, as it included a prohibition of practicing teaching or working in any educational institution for a period of 10 years. During his appeal trial, Mustafa Abdel Dayem was denied his right to be defended by legal counsel. According to members of his defence team, none of his lawyers was summoned to the appeal hearings, which took place at the Court of Appeals of Agadir. Furthermore, Mustafa Abdel Dayem claims that his requests to postpone the second hearing on 11 December until his lawyers were present or until he had had the opportunity to constitute, a different defence team was rejected by the court. Mustafa Abd Daiem is currently serving a three-year prison sentence in Ait Meloul prison in Morocco and has been on a hunger strike to protest his situation. The DSCWS is concerned about his recent trial which we understand was highly irregular and thus his current prison sentence is unfair and unjustified. Western Sahara has been classified by the United Nations as a “non-self-governing territory”. And since 1975, this territory has been under the occupation of Morocco, which claims sovereignty over the territory. This is in contravention with the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and more than 100 UN resolutions that call for the right of Self-determination of the Saharawi People. International Court of Justice, 16 October 1975 "Thus the Court has not found legal ties of such a nature as might affect the application of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) in the decolonization of Western Sahara and, in particular, of the principle of self-determination through the free and genuine expression of the will of the peoples of the Territory." UN General Assembly 34/37, 1979 "The General Assembly[...]Deeply deplores the aggravation of the situation resulting from the continued occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco and the extension of that occupation to the territory recently evacuated by Mauritania". The illegal occupation by Morocco of the territory of Western Sahara has been possible through the constant repression of the Sahrawi people, making their human rights vulnerable on an ongoing basis: Arbitrary arrests, imprisonment, disappearances, torture, trials without guarantees, prohibition of protests or association, presence of the police and army in the streets, creation of a climate of fear and terror among the civilians, etc. An explosive situation has been created throughout the territory. As denounced by various international human rights defence organisations such as Front Line, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, human rights activists in Western Sahara are the habitual target of repressive actions from Moroccan authorities. The question of human rights runs parallel to the issues concerning the right to self-determination. One of the main links in the chain of abuses committed on the human rights of the Saharawi population is the plundering of their natural resources. Spawned by the relentless policy exercised by Morocco since the beginning of the occupation, this violation would not have been possible without the acquiescence and, on occasions, active participation of third countries. On 29th of January 2002, the UN Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs, Mr. Hans Corell, wrote to the Security Council that "if further exploration and exploitation activities were to proceed in disregard of the interests and wishes of the people of Western Sahara, they would be in violation of the principles of international law". More than 500 Saharawi have disappeared since Morocco invaded the territory in 1975, the human rights situation in the occupied territories of the Western Sahara is of great concern to the DSCWS where the Saharawi people are denied their right to self-determination. The Saharawis continue to endure human rights abuses. The DSCWS asks UN to expand the mandate of its Mission on the ground (MINURSO) to monitor the important issue of Human Rights. The DSCWS believes that Mustafa Abdel Daiem’s conviction was intended to punish him for his public support for the right to self-determination for the People of Western Sahara and strongly supports the Campaign run by UPES for his immediate release Yours sincerely Nicolas Truelsen Spokesperson of DSCWS Email: vestsahara@gmail.dk CC: - Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Danish Parliament’s Committee for Foreign Affairs - Africa Contact Denmark - A World Associations of Writers, the PEN (Danish PEN Centre) - Amnesty International - Denmark - Danish Institute for Human rights - Danish Centre for Human Rights (DCHR) - Danwatch - Human Rights Watch - Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT)- Denmark

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