Polisario Front's Legal Triumphs Challenge European Institutions
CHAHID EL HAFED - The Polisario Front's attorney in European courts, Gilles Devers, asserted on Saturday that the recent extension of agreements between the European Union and Morocco represents a significant acknowledgment of defeat. This statement underscores the merit of the Sahrawi people in defending international and European legality through their unwavering commitment to litigating against community institutions that violate European law in their agreements with Morocco.
During a morning session at the conference organized by the Working Group on Natural Resources and Legal Issues, Devers highlighted that the Polisario Front has, through its foresight and persistence in filing lawsuits against the European Commission regarding trade agreements with Morocco— which involve the exploitation of Sahrawi resources— emerged as the first liberation movement to achieve favorable rulings from the highest European judicial bodies.
These rulings, according to Devers, not only symbolize judicial victories for the Sahrawi people but also stand as triumphs for all nations subjected to the exploitation of their resources. Furthermore, he emphasized that these legal decisions establish a historic precedent, marking the first instance in which a liberation movement has succeeded in having an international trade agreement annulled by a court.
In his address, he provided an overview of the key stages of the Sahrawi litigations before European justice. He paid tribute to the late Sahrawi leaders Mohamed Abdelaziz and M'hamed Jad-dad, as well as his father, the former attorney for the Polisario Front, Gilles Devers, who had the vision and courage to embark on this legal journey in 2012, at a time when facing the European Commission did not guarantee a favorable outcome.
He further noted that the efforts made since then have culminated in successive judicial victories, including the landmark ruling of 2016, which emphasized that agreements must only apply to Moroccan territory and reaffirmed the "distinct and separate" status of Western Sahara, thereby rejecting Morocco's claims of sovereignty. This was followed by rulings in 2018, 2021, and finally in 2024, which granted the Polisario Front legal personality—not just political—to represent the Sahrawi people.
Moreover, Devers highlighted the European Commission and Morocco's decision to extend agreements despite their judicial annulment. He views this extension as a self-admission of defeat and a tacit acknowledgment by Morocco of its lack of sovereignty over Western Sahara, opting to circumvent the law rather than enter into clear agreements if it indeed possessed such sovereignty.
As reported by spsrasd.info.
