Shaheed Al-Hafed, August 16, 2025 (SPS) – The Sahrawi Working Group on Natural Resources and Related Legal Issues held its first founding meeting after its establishment was announced by the President of the Republic through a presidential directive issued on August 8.
The directive emphasized the importance of this issue as "one of the crucial fronts in the current liberation struggle of the Sahrawi people," particularly in light of numerous judicial rulings and decisions issued by the United Nations, the African Union, and the European Union.
The founding meeting, held via remote communication technology, was chaired by the head of the group, the Special Advisor in charge of the file, Mr. Oubi Bushraya Al-Bashir. Attendees included, in addition to the working group members, the lawyer of the Polisario Front, Mr. Manuel Devers; the president of the Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW), Mr. Erik Hagen; and Ms. tone sørfonn moe, the lawyer for Sahrawi political prisoners.
During the meeting, the head of the group presented the context, objectives, and scope of the working group’s mandate, as well as the directives of the President of the Republic in this regard. The participants unanimously agreed on "the necessity of mobilizing to win this battle and meet pressing future deadlines, in order to deny the occupying power any opportunity to exploit all possible tactics and maneuvers to circumvent international law and continental court rulings in its attempt to impose a colonial fait accompli."
The meeting affirmed that the central objective of this struggle remains undermining the two main pillars on which Morocco relies to sustain its occupation of Western Sahara: first, "the exploitation of the region’s resources to fund its military and settlement occupation while implicating international parties," and second, "the repression of Sahrawi civilians amid the absence of international human rights monitoring and persistent impunity."
This battle requires "adopting a clear strategy and roadmap to enforce the Sahrawi people’s sovereignty over its natural resources, based on its inalienable right to self-determination and independence. It also demands compelling the international community—particularly the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council—to assume their responsibilities regarding human rights in Africa’s last colony."
After discussing work priorities and procedural methods for coordination in light of upcoming deadlines, the meeting approved the broad outlines of its agenda for future actions.
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