On Monday May 12th the Icelandic Parliament passed a resolution in support of the people of Western Sahara's right for self-determination.
The Western Sahara statement from the Icelandic Parliament enjoyed broad cross-political support, 59 MPs voted in favour of the resolution, none voted against and four were absent.
The text of the resolution in its English, unofficial, translation is as follows:
“The Icelandic Parliament requests the Minister for Foreign Affairs to work actively in international forums for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara to be respected as provided for in the resolutions of the United nations Security Council and United Nations General Assembly and to support efforts to find a peaceful and permanent political solution.”
See original on the Parliament website.
The Icelandic Association for Western Sahara, founded in 2013, congratulates the Parliament with a good statement.
"It shows that the people of Iceland is ever more aware of the injustices suffered by the people of Western Sahara", stated Stefán Pálsson of the Icelandic Association for Western Sahara.
The resolution, tabled by eight MPs from five out of the six parties in parliament, drew strong reaction from Morocco with the Moroccan ambassador to Iceland and a delegation of Moroccan MPs visiting the country.
In a recent published decision of 1 April 2024, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention requested the immediate release of the young Saharawi journalist Khatri Dadda.
The occupying power Morocco, which sabotages the work of the UN Human Rights Council in occupied Western Sahara, has begun its first session after being elected to preside the Council.
Today, Morocco was elected to chair the UN Human Rights Council. The result generated strong reactions.
"The credibility of the UN system is at stake", says the Norwegian Support Committee about this week's election of a new presidency of the Human Rights Council. Norwegian organizations are critical of the candidacy.