WRITTEN QUESTION P-1736/02

by Claude Moraes (PSE) to the Commission

(10 June 2002)

Subject: Western Sahara and the Saharawi right to self-determination

Does the Commission support the Saharawi right to self-determination?

Does the Commission support the call for a referendum that will enable the Saharawi to have the right to form their own government?

Does the Commission agree that the sale of arms to Morocco is enabling that country to use them to keep the Saharawi out of their own country?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(3 July 2002)

The Commission has always fully supported the views and actions of the United Nations concerning the Western Saharan Territory. This includes the recognition of the Territory as a non-self-governing one, as stated by the United Nations General Assembly, as well as the efforts of the United Nations Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, and his Personal Envoy, Mr James Baker III, in order to bring the parties in conflict to reach a mutually acceptable solution.

The United Nations Secretary General and the Security Council are still aiming this year to identify a viable option for a resolution of this conflict. In his report of 19 February 2002, Kofi Anan gives four options for consideration by the Security Council. The Security Council has decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara until 31 July 2002 in order to consider further the above mentioned report of the Secretary General. At this sensitive stage in their work, the Commission and the Union want to make sure that no step is taken that would make their action more difficult. The Commission follows attentively the developments concerning this matter and stands ready to examine any requests for Community support in the context of a final settlement which respects international legality.

Humanitarian action taken through the European Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), consisting of food and medical aid, amounts to EUR 81 million between 1993 and 2001; and another EUR 14 million has been proposed for 2002. In addition, the Commission is actively asking for the adoption of confidence-building measures, such as the release of war prisoners, the facilitation of contacts and visits between members of separated families. Those measures will help create better conditions for a fruitful dialogue between the parties in conflict.

At the recent Ministerial Troika meeting in Algiers on 5 June 2002 the Union seized the opportunity to transmit the European concerns and demands on humanitarian aspects of the Western Sahara conflict. The Union confirmed its support to the United Nations efforts to find a mutually acceptable solution. It urged both parties to solve the problem of the fate of unaccounted people and to release all those held since the start of the conflict. The Union also asked for the full respect of civil guaranties and human rights in the Western Sahara territories; and it also asked both parties in conflict to favour the contacts and visits between members of the families separated by the conflict.

Finally, the importance of the ratification of the Association Agreements with Morocco(1) and Algeria(2) in this context should not be underestimated. These agreements foresee a regular and institutional political dialogue between the Union and each related country.

(1) In force since 1 March 2000.

(2) Signed in Valencia, on 22 April 2002, needs to be ratified by every national parliament as well as by the Parliament.