Bruselas, 18 de marzo de 2015.– El eurodiputado Fernando Maura, vicepresidente del grupo ALDE y recientemente elegido vicepresidente del Intergrupo a favor del Sáhara Occidental del Parlamento Europeo, ha remitido una carta al Secretario General de las Naciones Unidas, Ban Ki Moon, en la que reafirma su compromiso con el Derecho Internacional y la defensa de los Derechos Humanos en el territorio saharaui, «ocupado ilegalmente por Marruecos», según señala el eurodiputado. El europarlamentario español cumple así la primera tarea que se atribuyó ante el citado Intergrupo el mismo día de su elección.
La carta enviada a Naciones Unidas, a pocas fechas de que tenga lugar el debate del Consejo de Seguridad de la ONU sobre el conflicto del Sahara Occidental, respalda claramente a Christopher Ross, enviado personal de Ban Ki Moon al Sáhara así como a la MINURSO, misión para la que los firmantes piden que se dote de competencias y mecanismos para la supervisión y respeto de los Derechos Humanos. Los signatarios también exigen de Moon que actúe para impedir el expolio de recursos naturales al que está siendo sometido el único territorio de África pendiente de descolonizar.
«Es la primera obligación que me planteé en el seno del Intergrupo sobre el Sahara Occidental, pues la MINURSO es la única misión de la ONU que no tiene aún entre sus competencias la capacidad operativa para observar, prevenir y evitar las violaciones a los Derechos Humanos en el Sáhara Occidental», ha señalado Maura.
A esta iniciativa de Fernando Maura se han adherido los eurodiputados pertenecientes al Intergrupo, procedentes de todo el arco parlamentario. Maura deja patente que el compromiso con la defensa de los Derechos Humanos «debe ser una preocupación de primer orden para la Unión Europea, transversal a todas las ideologías que defiendan la democracia y la dignidad del ser humano», concluyó.
CONTENIDO COMPLETO DE LA CARTA A BAN KI-MOON
His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary-General of the United Nations
Dear Secretary-General,
In preparation of the debate of the UN Security Council on the Western Sahara Conflict we, Members of the European Parliament, would like to express our support for your action towards the achievement of a viable solution for the conflict, which can lead to the self-determination of this non-self-governing territory.
As you know, Western Sahara is the only territory in the African Continent awaiting to be decolonized, in compliance with international law. However, although we strongly welcome your efforts, we also like to express our concern about the lack of advancement in the peace process carried out by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), due to the blockade realised by the Moroccan counterpart to the work of your representatives.
This impasse has been accompanied by a repeated violation of human rights in the occupied territories which has resulted in assaults, arbitrary arrests, torture and even deaths of civilians. The tension generated by this situation endangers the peace and confidence required to achieve the success of the UN mediation.
In this framework, the United Nations has been warning about the need to tackle the “inevitable frustration” that the continuous postponement of the objectives imposed on MINURSO is generating in the region, which is already severely affected by instability and the proliferation of weapons.
In the UN report of 10 April 2014 on the situation on Western Sahara, you stressed the urgent need for progress by April of the current year and warned that if steps were not taken in this regard, the members of the Security Council would have to make a “comprehensive review of the framework for the negotiation process set in 2007”.
In case this revision is carried out, we kindly ask you to urgently act to remove the burdens that prevent MINURSO from applying the international law which requires the consultation of the opinion of the Saharawi people about their future. Moreover, we also request you to adopt the necessary measures in order to restore the confidence of the Saharawi population within the ability of UN to achieve a fair, long-lasting, and mutually acceptable solution.
We believe it is necessary to adopt mechanisms that enable MINURSO to monitor the respect of human rights in the area and push towards actions to prevent looting perpetrated by Morocco in this territory.
In conclusion, we would like to reiterate our firm rejection of any action that could thwarting and hampering your efforts and those of Mr. Christopher Ross.
Yours sincerely,