madam president i will also talk today about the upsetting developments in western sahara
as we have been reading in our newspapers there have been violent confrontations in refugee camps where the bulk of the western saharan population have been confined since the moroccan invasion of the nineteen seventies
to invade their country is one thing but to confine a large percentage of the population in refugee camps is another
the western sahara in exile movement has courageously brought this situation to the world's attention
the un security council has examined this latest violent episode but stopped short of calling for an independent investigation
it is a safe bet that the moroccan authorities will be less than impartial if the investigation is left up to them
the moroccan authorities cannot even decide how many people were killed in the raid at the camp in laâyoune
given the proximity of western sahara to europe and its potential to destabilize the sensitive north african region this could escalate if things are not done soon
i strongly believe that there should be an independent investigation and i call on the un security council to launch one
