Western Sahara is the last African decolonization case on the agenda of the United Nations and it has been on the UN list of the Special Committee of 24 since 1963 when it was under the Spanish colonial rule. The General Assembly has consistently recognized the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence, and called for the exercise of that right in accordance with General Assembly Resolution1514 (XV) containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

The decolonization process of Western Sahara was interrupted drastically owing to Morocco’s military invasion and illegal occupation of the territory on 31 October 1975. The occupation was in violation of numerous UN and OAU resolutions and the historic ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued on 16 October 1975.

In 1992 a referendum was supposed to take place to give the Saharawi people their right to decide over their own fate. No referendum, thus far, has been organized due to Morocco’s refusal to accept a free Western Sahara. Sahrawi Republic has been recognized by over 80 countries and is a member of the African Union. Neither the United Nations (UN) nor the African Union (AU) or any country in the world, recognizes Morocco’s claims of sovereignty over Western Sahara.

The Saharawi people have been suffering for too long without the international community taking their responsibility to ensure freedom; equality and democracy are truly implemented and upheld in the case of Western Sahara.

As we gathering here in Katowice, Silesia, EFAy therefore demands:

• That, in light of the right to self-determination of Western Sahara, every member state of the UN formally recognizes Western Sahara as a state and recognizes the Frente Polisario as the legitimate and only representative of the people of Western Sahara.
• That United Nations urgently expedite the resolution of the issue of Western Sahara, by taking all the necessary measures for the organization of a referendum for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in accordance with the relevant United Nations Resolutions and African Union decisions.
• Urges the UN Security Council to act upon the recommendations of numerous international human rights organizations and establish a human rights component within the mandate of MINURSO with a view to protecting, monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation of the Sahrawi people as long as the conflict over the decolonization of the territory remains unresolved.
• Respect of international human rights law in the occupied territories, notable the right to freedom of association, assembly, protest, movement and expression.
• The release of all Saharawi political prisoners in different Moroccan prisons.
• An end to the illegal exploitations of the natural resources of Western Sahara in the occupied territories and the discouragement of the continuing complicity of certain foreign companies despite the binding ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in December 2016.
• Calls on the African Union after the accession of Morocco to the AU, to assume its responsibilities and to engage proactively in the international efforts aiming at bringing about a just and lasting solution to the conflict in Western Sahara and the need for Morocco to end its occupation of the Sahrawi Republic territories.
• Respect of international humanitarian law and support for the provision of humanitarian assistance to the Saharawi refugees in a way that is predictable, sustainable and timely.

Bearing in mind that:

1. The recent developments regarding ETA’s disarmament,which would lead to ETA being fully disarmed by April the 8th of the current year; a huge step towards the pacification of the Basque Country and the resolution of the Basque conflict.
2. The nonexistent willingness by the Spanish government to cooperate in the process of ETA’s disarmament.
3. The high number of police officers and military personnel in the Basque Country, making it the area in Europe with the highest number of police or military officers per capita, while having one of the lowest crime rates.
4. Recent developments,particularly in towns like Altsasu or Leitza,where the pres- ence of the Spanish “Guardia Civil” hinders a peaceful coexistence of its citizens.

The European Free Alliance Youth,

Declares that:

• The Spanish and French governments must collaborate with ETA, for its final disarmament, which will be, undoubtedly, one of the much needed steps for the resolution of the conflict.
• Spanish and French military forces must leave the Basque Country, ending their policy of military occupation, a measure widely supported by most political forces in the Basque Country.
• In the case of the Basque Autonomous Community and Navarre, the Ertzaintza and the Foruzaingoa, shall respectively replace the Spanish police forces (National Po- lice and Guardia Civil), lowering the total amount of police officers in the Basque Country, and making it more appropriate to its low crime rate.
• A new policing model must be developed, favouring municipal police forces, based on a framework of community support.

In 2015 Slovenia has started erecting a razor wire fence along parts of its border with Cro- atia amid heavy security to "direct the flow of migrants" into the country.
The WWF and the inhabitants of the regions from both sides of the border have protested against the decision to put up the razor-wire fence.

Bearing in mind that:

• In 2015 Slovenia has started erecting a razor wire fence along parts of its border withCroatia amid heavy security to "direct the flow of migrants" into the country.
• WWF and the inhabitants of the regions from both sides of the border have protested against the decision to put up the razor-wire fence. The European Free Alliance Youth declares that:
  • The Slovenian Government should remove the barbed wire on Croatian-Slovenian border.
  • We believe Slovenian and Croatian Government should improve their diplomatic ties and work together in critical situations
  • European Union should react more actively against the use of barbed wire by its member countries
  • The EFAy wish a soon entrance of Croatia in Schengen border area, which will have a posi- tive impact an all South East European Countries.

Meran Declaration

MOTION AGAINST FAR RIGHT AND IN DEFENSE OF DIVERSITY

The European Free Alliance Youth, the youth of the stateless nations, regions and minorities of Europe, following the conclusions of the debates developed in Südtirol in May 2016 during the conference «Far Right and State Populism», presents this declaration to its General Assembly.

Given:

1. The worrying growth of far right movements and parties in many European countries,
2. The multiple forms that far right is adopting at political level, even defending stateless nations, regions or minorities,
3. The crisis of current liberal-democratic regimes, due to the limitation of democracy and the “austerity” measures promoted by almost all European countries,
4. The threat that the mentioned factors suppose for the civic, political and social rights that European citizens, especially women, LGBTIQP+ collectives, minorities and migrants, have achieved after years of struggle,

The European Free Alliance Youth:

1. Repudiates those parties that claim to defend minorities and stateless nations from far right positions based on a nationalism characterised by exclusion and ethnicity,
2. Stands for a civic nationalism that promotes an inclusive society
3. Welcomes refugees and migrants to our nations, regions and communities, and stands for a mutual understanding and cohabitation.
4. Defends a common foreign policy on the EU based on cooperation and pacemaking, fostering the economic and social development of its neighbouring countries.
5. Struggles for the deepening of our democracies through the defence of the right to decide. The defence of this right has to be followed by a claim for a more participative and direct democracy, overcoming the limitations of representation of the current liberal democracies.
6. Defends those social policies that promote equity and cohesive societies through the expansion of the welfare state.
7. Stands for the creation of alliances and networks with other parties, NGO’s and platforms for the defence of diversity and the struggle of far right.

The beginning of the 20th century was a convulsed time for the Spanish state, firstly with the consequences of the loss of the colonies and then with the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. In April 1931, the municipal elections were a triumph for the republican parties in 41 of the 50 capitals of province. The king Alfonso XIII, was forced to exile because of the republican claim, and the 14th of April the 2nd Republic was proclaimed, or the “Federation of Iberian Republics”. During these years, the Spanish citizens enjoyed one of the most advanced constitutions of this period and many transforming laws. Individual rights were guaranteed, such as the female suffrage, the freedom of religion and expression. Collective rights such as the right of autonomy, freedom of association and other fundamental rights were also guaranteed.

Many protests were hold and the instability of Europe after the 1929 crisis and the military and agricultural crisis ended up with an uprising of the army against the legal republican government.  The 18th of June 1936 there was an uprising of the fascist troops and the Civil War started, becoming the precedent of the II World War, as the ultraconservatives who upraised led Spain to a 40 years dictatorship.

Francisco Franco dictatorship was a step behind for the society who dreamed about the national and social freedom. For all of this, any of these situations should ever be repeated around the world.

The European Free Alliance Youth:

1. Demands to remember the victims of the 40 years of Franco dictatorship and of the following hate crimes.
2. Calls upon the administrations to set the necessary means -be it DNA identification or other technologies- to find the human remains which have not been identified, so that families can decide what to do with them.
3. Asks for the revocation of the sentences against political dissidence and sexual condition.
4. Demands the recognition of the democratic figures of the Republic, the dictatorship and the transition.
5. Commits to avoid the repetition of these authority regimes in its member states.
6. Demands the removal of tributes to people, institutions and places related to fascism, Franco, nazism and far right in general.

Taking into account:

The recognition of the right to self-determination must be the most basic and essential rights of an advanced democracy.

The best tool to learn the opinion of the majority of the Catalan citizens towards independence is the referendum, as it requires a clear question, a binary answer and allows the acknowledgement of which position has a majority.

The manifestation of the Catalan population of their determination to make effective the right to vote in the last years, which has been shaped as big, transversal, civic and pacific citizen mobilisations and as a vote for the political options which explicitly stated in their electoral programme the defence of the sovereignty of the Catalan population and the will to decide the political future with a referendum.

The Spanish government and the main Spanish political groups have denied over and over the authorisation of a referendum on the independence of Catalonia, even having received many offers from the Catalans, and that many academics have manifested different legal ways to organise it according to the Spanish law.

The Catalan Parliament passed the Resolution 36/XI the October 6th 2016 in which asked the Government to celebrate a referendum on independence setting the deadline on September 2017 and ensuring it would have a clear question and a binary answer, and asking for a legal guarantee.

The European Free Alliance Youth:

1. Supports the organisation of a voting procedure shaped as a binding referendum in Cat- alonia, to know the opinion of the Catalan citizens towards independence.

2. Commits to respect the result of the referendum on the independence of Catalonia and to work from its respective fields, both in Europe and in the states of the EFAY members, so as to apply it right after the referendum is held.

3. Commits to report any judicial, economic or repressive barrier by the Spanish govern- ment or by the judicial courts of the Spanish State that blocks the free right to decide of the Catalans.

The European Free Alliance Youth, in its radical defence and belief in Human Rights, cannot accept the existence of the seven CIEs (Centro de Internamento de Estranjeros, Foreigners Internal Centre) in the Spanish state, two of which are in the Catalan Countries.

These centres act as administrative prisons where foreigners are retained in order to wait for their deportation to their countries of origin. They are a clear deprivation of freedom and the interns live in terrible conditions.  People who have been interned have reported the lack of space, the cold in the cells and a current practice of harassment to the people interned. CIEs are opaque places, where Human Rights organizations and institutions are forbidden to enter, and neither local governments do. What’s worse, several people have died or even killed themselves in there. The location of these centres is also remarkable, as they tend to be close to the airports and distant to the population, clearly showing the Spanish government’s aim of removing interns from Spain.

The CIEs are intrinsically discriminatory, because the possibility to be interned and therefore expelled of the country can only be applied to foreigners. Most of the interns are Sub-saharan, from the very other side of the Mediterranean, and they are not allowed to stay because of the lack of documentation. These racist attacks by the Spanish government are systematic. Spain has been considered an example for the European agency FRONTEX when it comes to closing the borders, and both the Spanish and the European migration policies are constantly infringing human rights. The Spanish foreign law, which establishes the existence of the CIEs, is a xenophobic law which only gives privileges to those with Spanish origin. This law must be removed if we want  open and respectful states.

Barcelona Council (several times) and the Catalan Parliament (on July 2015) both have stated and asked for the CIE in Barcelona to be closed. There has also been a social campaign in the Valencian Country to close the CIE dels Sapadors, in Valencia. After being closed in October 2016 because of a plague of bedbugs, it has reopened, having the mayor of Valencia and the Valencian Parliament against it.

There have been different events and demonstrations and many platforms have been created to close the CIEs, but all of them are still open and they haven’t changed much.

Thus, taking into account that:

1. The CIEs are institutions where Human Rights are not respected.
2. The CIEs are discriminatory and racist.
3. The Foreign Law in Spain is racist, discriminatory and xenophobic.
4. The CIEs are only the visual part of a racist and discriminatory system, which involves all Europe. In France, Italy, United Kingdom or the Netherlands these centres also exist.
5. There is a popular claim that these centres must end and close.

The European Free Alliance Youth:

1. Demands the immediate closure of CIE Zona Franca (Barcelona), CIE Els Sapadors (Valencia) and all the others CIEs or centres built with the same aims.
2. Asks the local authorities to fight against these centers, acknowledging the only actual power to close the CIEs is the Spanish government.
3. Demands the elimination of the foreign law in the Spanish State.
4. Expresses its support to Tanquem el CIE, CIEs NO and any campaign that fights to close the CIEs.
5. Criminalises the general prosecution of migrants and refugees of all around Europe, and claims for an opening of the borders.