Photo: MPs Arild Hermstad (Green Party), Kai Steffen Østensen (Labour Party), June Gruer (Labour Party), Frøya Skjold Sjursæther (Green Party), with Erik Hagen and Asria Mohamed of the Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara. 

The territory of Western Sahara has been illegally occupied by Morocco for 50 years. The people of Western Sahara have the right to self-determination, and Morocco’s claim to the territory has been rejected by international courts. The United Nations considers Western Sahara an unresolved decolonization issue.

This is the fourth consecutive Norwegian Parliament to establish a friendship group for Western Sahara consisting of representatives from all parties.

The group is currently coordinated by Benjamin Jakobsen (Labour Party) and Frøya Skjold Sjursæther (Green Party). So far, 22 representatives have joined the group.

“International law is under massive pressure globally. As a small country, we depend on the respect of the international legal order. The occupation of Western Sahara must come to an end, and the Saharawi people must be allowed to decide their own future,” says Jakobsen.

“The cross-party consensus that self-determination in Western Sahara stands firm in Norway is rock solid. The decolonization of Western Sahara must be completed, and neighboring Morocco must allow the Saharawi people’s human rights and freedoms to be respected,” Sjursæther states.