Campaigners for a resolution to the three decade occupation of Western Sahara have welcomed this weeks agreement between Morocco and the Polisario to continue talks. Informal meetings that took place on Monday and Tuesday under the auspices of UN Special Envoy to Western Sahara, Christopher Ross are welcome. Although the detail of what was agreed in these closed-door negotiations will not be made public they are optimism that they will help resurrect direct negotiations between the two parties with a view to reaching a just and lasting solution that would guarantee the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.

The dispute in Western Sahara is one of the longest running and most forgotten conflicts in the world. The country has been subject to an occupation by neighbouring Morocco despite rulings by the International Court of Justice and over 100 UN Resolutions. For the past 34 years 165,000 Saharawi refugees have been forced to live in refugee camps in the Algerian desert.

The international community has a responsibility to uphold international law and ensure that breaches of the UN Charter are swiftly and appropriately dealt with. If President Obama’s “new beginning” with the Muslim world is to be achieved, resolving the conflict in Western Sahara should be among his urgent priorities.

Christopher Ross, the U.N.'s mediator in the conflict, said after concluding the meeting that he would arrange as soon as possible another round of talks aimed at unblocking the 34-year-old dispute.

"The discussions took place in an atmosphere of serious engagement, frankness, and mutual respect," Ross said of the talks in a statement emailed by the U.N.

"The parties reiterated their commitment to continue their negotiations as soon as possible, and (I) will fix the date and place of the next meeting in consultation with the parties."

The statement gave no more details of the talks. It is not clear whether discussions took place about the Oxford Six, Saharawi students who were refused transit last week to England where they were due to attend a conflict resolution course. The students went on a hunger strike protest for 18 hours before being arrested and beaten by police. The students have now been released but are still hoping to get to Oxford for the second week of the of the course.

Please send an urgent letter or email to:

Mr.Abdelwahed Radi the Moroccan Minister of Justice, condemning the students’ treatment, calling on him to ensure they are allowed to travel in safety and calling for a full investigation.
Mr.Abdelwahed Radi
Minister of Justice
Place el Ammonia
485 Boulevard Mohammed V
Rabat
Morocco
 Elkadiri@justice.gov.ma
Please copy the letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
 mail@maec.gov.ma