Cologne (Germany), 1 September 2025 (SPS) - The "Smara" group in solidarity with the struggle of the Sahrawi people organized Saturday a symposium in the city of Cologne, western Germany, on the prospects for a just peace in occupied Western Sahara.
Participants in the symposium affirmed that a just and lasting peace will not be possible without full respect for the inalienable rights of the Sahrawi people, foremost of which is the right to self-determination.
They pointed out that Moroccan attempts to impose a fait accompli include extensive settlement policies in the occupied territories, leading to the displacement of the population, the plundering of natural resources, and an attempt to erase the Sahrawi identity and deny their human, political, and social rights.
The speakers clarified that the ongoing war cannot be reduced to its military dimension alone; it extends beyond that to a network of economic interests linked to the exploitation of natural resources and geopolitical balances that allow the Moroccan occupation to continue with the support of international powers.
At the conclusion of the symposium, the organizers emphasized that any just and lasting peace in Western Sahara will not be possible without a comprehensive addressing of the conflict's dimensions.
This specifically includes holding the occupying Moroccan state accountable and ending its impunity, stopping the plundering and depletion of Sahrawi natural resources, breaking the political and media blockade imposed on the occupied territory, and enhancing international solidarity with the struggle of the Sahrawi people."
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