As you know, violence erupted this month in Western Sahara.  In the early hours of Monday 8th November, Moroccan security forces destroyed the protest camp outside Laayoune that had been home to some 20,000 Saharawi for nearly a month.  The violence soon relocated to the streets of the capital, where buildings were burned, Saharawi homes were ransacked, young men were arrested and many took to the streets.  Reports from the Saharawi Ministry of Information reported at least 11 dead, 700 injured and 150 missing.  Moroccan authorities reported 3 deaths amongst the security forces.

We suggest taking immediate, coordinated action to prevent more deaths and urge that an international delegation is sent to the occupied territory, to monitor both the current situation and human rights in the long-term.

What can you do?

• Write to your MP
• Write to your MEPs
• Write to representatives of the international community
• Write to the Moroccans
• Some tips for writing an effective letter
• Post a Question on Facebook and/or Twitter
• What the action appeal has achieved so far

Write to your MP and request that

• they contact Alistair Burt MP to ask that the UK takes immediate action to help stem the violence in Moroccan occupied Western Sahara (highlight events of Monday 8th Nov, that a peaceful protest was brutally dismantled by the Moroccan authorities, that the latest figures suggest several dead, many wounded and missing)
• that immediate action is taken to prevent more casualties
• that the UK makes an official public statement condemning the violence
• that an urgent delegation is sent from the British Embassy to observe the situation as independent press and observers have had very limited access
• that the UK express their explicit support for UN human rights monitoring in Western Sahara, currently the only UN mission that has no mandate for human rights
• that they sign the Early Day Motion of 9th Nov. by Jeremy Corbyn MP
• that they table some urgent parliamentary questions on the matter (these can be provided should the MP show interest)

Write to your MEPs

• find out who your MEP is here and write to them as you would your MP
• or alternatively, use the ‘Petitions’ tab on this new website set up in the wake of events following the dismantling of Gdaym Izeek protest camp, to send an automatic message to ALL UK MEPs

Write to representatives of the international community

• High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navanathem Pillay

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
ewalker@ohchr.org / infodesk@ohchr.org / fhochschild@ohchr.org
(41) 22 928 9555

• UK Presidency of the United Nations Security Council

H.E. Sir Mark Lyall Grant, President of the Security Council
Permanent Representative, UK Mission to the UN
One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 885 Second Ave., New York NY 10017

• Your Foreign Office
• Your Ambassador to Morocco
• Your Ambassador to the UN

Write to the Moroccans

Minister of the Interior, His Excellency Chakib Benmoussa
Quartier Administratif, Rabat, Maroc/Morocco
Fax: (212) 537 762 056

(Salutation: Your Excellency)

President of the Advisory Board of Human Rights, Ahmed Herzenni

Place Ach-chouhada, BP 1341, 1000 Rabat, Maroc/Morocco

Fax: (212) 537 726 856  / ccdh@ccdh.org.ma

Ambassador of His Majesty the King of Morocco to the Court of St James, Lalla Joumala Alaoui
Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco, 49 Queen’s Gate Gardens, London SW7 5NE
ambalondres@maec.gov.ma

Some tips for writing an effective letter

• keep it brief and significant, whilst highlighting all the important issues you wish to cover
• don’t be emotional, keep it polite and factual
• clarify your requests and demands using concrete names and dates where appropriate
• summarise your main points at the end and encourage a reply
• to download an excellent example of a letter written by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights to the President of the Security Council, click here
• to download examples of letters the Sandblast Team has written, click here and here

Post a Question on Facebook and/or Twitter

• on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Facebook page
• on the FCO Twitter page
• directly to William Hague on Twitter
• to the Conservatives on Twitter

What the Action Appeal has achieved so far

• the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued a public statement (to our knowledge and that of WS Campaign UK, its first on Western Sahara)
• a vigil organised by War on Want, took place on Saturday 13th Nov at the Moroccan Embassy in London – see photos by Steve Franck here
• the Early Day Motion (EDM) issued by Jeremy Corbyn MP has 31 signatures already, more are expected to come (all of the Sandblast Team’s MPs have signed the EDM following our letters)
• a question was presented to the Danish parliament on the 12th November by Mogens Lykktoft MP of the Social Democratic Party, asking for a Danish response to events
• Manu Chao issued an urgent condemnation of events in Western Sahara on his homepage on Friday – read it here
• the European Parliament will table an oral question on Western Sahara on the 24th November
• we have received responses to some our letters and emails – you can read them as we upload them on our NING Community
• American NGOs, activists, academics and ex-MINURSO staff have written to President Obama requesting he condemn Moroccan actions and show his support for human rights monitoring in Western Sahara.  Read the letter here.

Refer to the Western Sahara UK Campaign website for further actions to take in their ’3 Simple Actions’ campaign