W Sahara 'rights violations' slammed

2010-05-27 13:09

Algiers - Algeria and South Africa condemned on Wednesday alleged human rights violations in the disputed Western Sahara and reiterated calls for a referendum on the territory's possible independence from Morocco.

South African President Jacob Zuma was in Algiers for a two-day meeting of a bi-national commission between the countries, and held talks with his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Their discussions touched on developments in the Western Sahara, where separatist guerillas backed by Algiers want a referendum on self-determination, with independence as one of the options.

An official statement issued on the APS agency after the meeting said the men "had condemned the violation of human rights in the occupied territories".

They issued an "urgent appeal" to the United Nations to put in place a mechanism to protect human rights in the region.

A UN Security Council resolution that last month extended the mandate of its mission in the disputed Western Sahara made no mention of any monitoring of the human rights allegations, as sought by some council members.

Zuma and Bouteflika said in the statement that the Western Sahara issue was a "question of decolonisation" and should be based on "the right to self-determination" of the people in the region via referendum.

Morocco has pledged to grant Western Sahara widespread autonomy but rules out independence.

Its 1975 annexation of the Western Sahara sparked a war between its forces and the Algerian-backed Polisario guerrillas.

The two sides agreed to a ceasefire in 1991 but UN-sponsored talks on Western Sahara's future have since made no headway.

The South African and Algerian presidents were also present for the signing of a set of agreements between their countries, including over the peaceful use of nuclear energy, sport and cooperation on water resources.

- SAPA