Auserd, Saharawi Camps – 22 October 2024 – In a unanimous call for justice, trade union leaders from around the world gathered in the Saharawi refugee camps have strongly condemned the prolonged Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. Through this statement, the trade unions reaffirm their commitment to the struggle of the Saharawi people for their right to self-determination and call on the international community to take urgent action to end human rights violations in the territory. The participants in the International Trade Union Forum called on the international community to exert pressure on Morocco to allow the holding of a referendum of self-determination, as provided for in international law.
Final Declaration of the International Trade Union Forum of Solidarity with the Saharawi People 2024
We, the participants in the International Trade Union Forum of Solidarity with the Saharawi People, held from October 20 to 22, 2024, in the Wilaya of Auserd, Saharawi Refugee Camps, as we conclude the second edition of this forum—marked by political and intellectual exchanges, and driven by noble solidarity goals—emphasize the need to organize such events and activities. These efforts aim to unite and strengthen trade union work in ways that serve the interests of just causes, the struggles of our peoples, and the support of workers across all fields and arenas of struggle.
In renewing our appeal to the United Nations, the African Union, and the international community at large to intensify efforts to ensure that the Saharawi people enjoy their legitimate rights to freedom and independence in accordance with international law, we believe it is high time to put an end to a tragedy that has persisted far too long.
In this context, we stress the need to protect human rights in Western Sahara and express our condemnation of the ongoing illegal Moroccan occupation of parts of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic.
We also condemn the suffering endured by defenseless Saharawi civilians in the occupied territories of Western Sahara and southern Morocco, which results from policies of racist discrimination, marginalization, and systematic exclusion—especially affecting the unemployed, graduates, and forcibly displaced persons. Meanwhile, the Moroccan occupation continues to encourage settlement construction to flood the territory with settlers, while promoting the emigration of indigenous inhabitants. The Saharawi people face all this suffering, in addition to the hardships of poverty and a precarious situation, in a land rich in natural resources that are systematically plundered by Morocco in broad daylight, with the complicity of political and economic interests. These actions are in clear violation of international law and humanitarian law principles.
While calling for the Saharawi people to exercise their legitimate political, social, economic, and cultural rights, we demand that the United Nations and its mission in the territory take responsibility for protecting civilians and reporting on the human rights situation in Western Sahara.
In light of the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian conditions, worsened by the resumption of the conflict after Morocco’s violation of the ceasefire—alongside its suffocating siege, land dispossession, and ongoing harassment of Saharawi activists—we call for joint efforts to secure the release of all Saharawi political prisoners in Moroccan jails. Furthermore, we demand that the territory be opened to international observers, missions, and the press, and that there be an immediate end to attacks on civilians, activists, and human rights defenders. These actions, along with crimes against humanity committed by the Moroccan occupation against Saharawi civilians, must cease.
From this platform, we recall and highly value the historic decision of the European Court of Justice, which invalidated the Trade Agreement between the European Union and Morocco that included the territory of Western Sahara, its territorial waters, and its airspace. We also call for greater and more concerted efforts to ensure the full implementation of UN resolutions related to this conflict.
We urge the strengthening of trade union solidarity and the unification of efforts to support the Saharawi people’s struggle. Furthermore, we advocate for developing a plan of future joint action to better coordinate solidarity efforts and enhance the struggles of our unions and organizations.
The participants in the second edition of the International Trade Union Forum of Solidarity put forward the following recommendations:
- Continue building and establishing trade union networks in solidarity with popular struggles and develop a joint action plan.
- Strengthen international trade union solidarity efforts and raise awareness of the Saharawi cause and the just struggle of its people in various regional and international forums.
- Support the General Union of Workers of Saguia El-Hamra and Rio de Oro, along with its various sections or departments, and stand with Saharawi workers and their people’s struggle for a dignified life within the institutions of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic.
- Advocate for labor rights and ensure the forum’s support for just labor issues worldwide.
- Support just causes, especially the Saharawi and Palestinian causes, and intensify advocacy to combat colonialism in all its forms.
- Work to uphold the highest labor principles and ideals, striving for a better world that guarantees equity, equal opportunities, and social justice.
The International Trade Union Forum of Solidarity with the Saharawi People
Wilaya of Auserd
Saharawi Refugee Camps
October 22, 2024
