Christopher Ross, a former US top diplomat, was in 2009 appointed the personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General, for the Western Sahara conflict. In an interview published on the UN webpages 25 January 2012, Mr. Ross talks about the need to end the Western Sahara conflict and the human tragedy of the conflict.
Among the issues he brings up are the natural resources. He clarifies how the natural resources are introduced as the new front for the so far deadlocked UN sponsored talks between Morocco and Polisario.
“They’ve agreed that they could begin by discussing natural resources and demining and then moving on to other subjects”, Mr. Ross stated.
Ross refers to the urgent need that the conflict is solved:
“The costs include the humanitarian plight of the refugees, increasing questions about human rights, the expense of maintaining significant military forces, and an inability to plan for the use of the natural resources of Western Sahara in a proper way“, Ross stated.
Western Sahara Resource Watch has long argued that Morocco’s plundering of the resources of the territory, in violation of the principles defined by the UN on the matter, contributes to uphold the unsustainable status quo.
While the two parties are in UN talks over the natural resources of Western Sahara, Morocco is now about to enter a free-trade/agriculture agreement with the EU, which would entail an increased plunder of the resources of the Saharawi people.
The main beneficiaries of the upcoming agricultural agreement are the owners of plantation lands in Western Sahara, including the King of Morocco, one of the wealthiest regents in the world.
WSRW calls on addressing plunder
WSRW calls on UN Member States to address Morocco's plunder of Western Sahara during Morocco's UPR review in November.
WSRW calls upon UN to halt the plundering
In its statement to the United Nations’ Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee), Western Sahara Resource Watch called for the establishment of a mechanism to place the proceeds from the exploitation of Western Sahara’s natural resources under international administration until the conflict has been resolved, and for the inclusion of a human rights component into the MINURSO mandate.
States urge Spain to respect Saharawi rights in Human Rights Council
Namibia and East-Timor have today recommended Spain to respect the Saharawi people's right to free, prior and informed consent with regard to the exploitation of Western Sahara's natural resources.
WSRW calls on UN Members to question Spain on Western Sahara at UPR
Next month, Spain’s human rights track record will be reviewed by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. WSRW asks UN Member States to raise the rights of the people of Western Sahara, for whom Spain continues to bear responsibility.