Presented by AISA in the HSRC, with the Saharawi Republic Embassy in South Africa
His Excellency Mr Mohamed Salem Ould Salek
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic
Keynote address: The Latest Developments on the Question of Western Sahara
Date: Friday, 12 June 2015
Time: 14:00 – 16:00
Venue: Forum 150, HSRC, 134 Pretorius Street, Pretoria
#LastColonyInAfrica
Ambassador Graham Maitland, Chief Director of the Central and North Africa Directorate at DIRCO
Presentation title: A renewed role for the African Union in the conflict in Western Sahara
Ms Catherine Constantinides, Lead SA Executive, Archbishop Tutu African Oxford Fellow & Social Cohesion Advocate for the Department of Arts & Culture
Presentation title: The story of a forgotten people; my recent experiences in the Refugee Camps
Western Sahara, partially occupied by Morocco, is the last colony in Africa. While the Saharawi peoples’ right to self-determination is recognised by the African Union, the United Nations, and the International Court of Justice, there is no country that recognises Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara. Despite this, and despite reports of the exploitative plundering of resources and the infliction of grave human rights abuses, the question remains as to why 2015 marks the fortieth year of occupation.
At the 496th meeting of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, held on 27 March, 2015, the urgency of renewed efforts to overcome the current impasse were expressed and it is in this context that this Ambassadorial Forum seeks to highlight the importance of this last official decolonisation struggle in Africa. The Ambassadorial Forum will bring together Embassy representatives, policy makers, academics, universities, research organisations, civil society groups, and those generally interested in Pan-African mobilisations, to engage on the Saharawi cause for self-determination as an essential part of ongoing African liberation struggles.
Kindly RSVP by 11 June 2015 to
Sam Lekala at slekala@hsrc.ac.za; Tel: 012 316 9753; Cell: 082 328 1464