referendum concerning the self-determination of the Sahrawi people

57. Criticises the fact that the issue of Western Sahara has not been placed on the agenda for the 2016 sessions of the HRC; emphasises once again that the Western Sahara conflict is a decolonisation issue and that, under international law, the Kingdom of Morocco has no sovereignty over Western Sahara and is regarded as the occupying power; condemns the persistent violation of the fundamental rights of the Sahrawi people; calls for the protection of the fundamental rights of the people of Western Sahara, including freedom of association, freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate; calls for the immediate ...[+++]release of all Sahrawi political prisoners and, as a matter of urgency, of the members of the Gdeim Izik group condemned by the Moroccan military tribunal; repeats its call to Spain to grant political asylum to the young Sahrawi Hassana Aalia, sentenced by a court to life imprisonment; stresses the need for international monitoring of the human rights situation in Western Sahara; calls on Morocco and the Polisario Front to continue the negotiations which are designed to lead to a peaceful and lasting solution to the Western Sahara conflict, and reaffirms the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, which must be decided by a democratic referendum held in accordance with United Nations Resolutions 34/37 and 35/19;

Whereas the Security Council of the United Nations has received and approved the report of the Secretary General of the United Nations on the holding of a referendum for self-determination of the people in Western Sahara;

We believe in the self-determination of peoples, and if Quebecers qualify as a people, they are entitled to hold their own referendum, without Ottawa's intrusion.

76. Recalls its resolution of 27 October 2005 on human rights in Western Sahara ; welcomes the release of Sahrawi political prisoners by the Moroccan authorities but condemns the continuation of human rights violations against the Sahrawi population; calls for the Sahrawi population to be protected and fundamental rights particularly freedom of expression, movement and demonstration to be respected; reiterates its call for a just and lasting solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, based on the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi peop ...[+++]le, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions, particularly Resolution 1495(2003);