The opinions of passers-by were quite clear: people do not want melons from the conflict area of Western Sahara in Swiss supermarkets. We spent a day on the Limmatplatz and recorded our meetings of 21 May 2016 in a shortened video.
In the issue of 09.02.2016, the consumer programme Kassensturz reported in detail on the unclean declaration of tomatoes from Western Sahara. terre des hommes schweiz is demanding that Swiss retailers immediately stop importing products from Western Sahara. Take action and write to your retailer!
Appeal for donations - On 17 and 18 October 2015 torrential rains fell on the Sahrawi refugee camps near the town of Tindouf in southern Algeria. The floods have caused massive damage to the Sahrawi refugees' shelters. In addition, weather forecasts are predicting further storms until Saturday 24 October.
Today's session of the National Council dealt with the petition on the extension of the UN mandate in Western Sahara. The latter decided not to accept the petition. We regret that the National Council did not take the opportunity to make a modest contribution to the resolution of the conflict.
This afternoon, "blue helmets" delivered weighty mail to the Swiss Federal Council and Parliament. In a petition they called on behalf of 45 organisations and individuals for Switzerland to make a strong case to the UN Security Council for extending the UN mission in Western Sahara to include human rights monitoring.
Cannes, Berlin or Locarno: film festivals are a dime a dozen. The International Film Festival FiSahara in the Sahrawi refugee camp Dakhla, on the other hand, is something very special. During one week, films are shown in tents in the middle of the Algerian desert, entertaining and thought-provoking. Furthermore: this unique festival is only possible thanks to the support of the many Sahrawi young people of our partner organisation UJSARIO.
Morocco has no intention of lifting the illegal occupation of Western Sahara. On the contrary, by building solar power plants cast in concrete, it is creating facts. This green cloak is intended to hide the fact that this is about the exploitation of raw materials. But this does not stop two young women in the Smara refugee camp from building for the future.
Last week the team from terre des hommes switzerland received a visit from the Sahrawi refugee camp Smara. Zein Sidachmed, who is responsible for youth work on site, reported on the situation in the camps and expressed his concern about the growing frustration of the Sahrawi youth a breeding ground for their radicalisation.
Annette Mokler, Programme Coordinator Western Sahara
In summer 2011, two social workers from the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria visited Switzerland. They were able to take home some ideas from their exchange with social institutions and youth centres. One of these was the idea of a cocktail-mix competition, such as the one that has now taken place in the Smara refugee camp.
A report by Annette Mokler, Programme Coordinator Brazil and Western Sahara
The territory of Western Sahara has been occupied by the Kingdom of Morocco for 38 years and the UN mission MINURSO has been on the ground for 22 years. That is exactly how long the UN mission can only look with one eye and not concern itself with human rights violations. That will remain so for another year.
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