Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 28: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding persons (details supplied) of the Saharaoui area who are on hunger strike; the assistance he has sought to give these people; the contact which he has had with the Moroccan authorities here on this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15374/09]

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 49: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding persons (details supplied) on hunger strike at their place of detention in Morocco; and the position of the UN initiative in relation to the conflict. [15373/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 28 and 49 together.

I am aware of the case of the three Saharawi prisoners, Khallihanna Aboulhassan, Ali Salem Ablagh and Brahim Baryaz, who are understood to have been on hunger strike since mid-February. My Department is closely monitoring developments in relation to this case through our Embassy in Portugal which is also accredited to Morocco. We are liaising closely with EU partners as regards what scope there may be for common action in relation to this case while our Embassy in Lisbon has also brought this matter to the attention of local human rights organisations in Morocco.

The situation of the Saharawi hunger strikers was also discussed at the conference on global resources, human rights and the environment organised by Ethical Development Action which I was pleased to be invited to address in Cork earlier this month. The Conference focused on raising awareness and renewing public attention on what has, regrettably, become a frozen conflict in the Western Sahara. I was privileged to meet with a number of delegates who had travelled from Western Sahara to tell their personal stories of hardship and deprivation.

The Government strongly supports the continuing engagement of the United Nations in the search for a political solution in the Western Sahara based on the principle of self-determination. We have consistently supported the right to self-determination of the people of the Western Sahara. Ireland has not taken a position on the future of the Territory, be it full independence, autonomy, or integration under Moroccan sovereignty, so long as it is decided in a genuine exercise of self-determination. UN Secretary General Ban has appointed former US Ambassador Christopher Ross as his new Personal Envoy for Western Sahara. I wish Mr. Ross well in his new role, and we will give him our full support.

Under the auspices of the United Nations, representatives of the Government of Morocco and of the Polisario Front have held a series of four direct meetings in Manhasset, New York, to discuss the future of the Territory of the Western Sahara. The most recent meeting was held in March 2008. There has unfortunately been no substantive progress at these talks so far. Morocco has set out its vision of an autonomous Government in the Territory, operating under Moroccan sovereignty. In response, the Polisario Front has set out its position in favour of the creation of an independent State in close association with Morocco, and with protection for Moroccan vital interests. Morocco has refused, however, to discuss any proposals which include independence as one of the possibilities for the Territory. This is the same impasse on which previous UN plans to organise a referendum in the Territory foundered. It is difficult to see how genuine self-determination can be exercised without a referendum in which the people can freely choose between all of the possible options, ranging from full integration with Morocco to full independence. Such a referendum was also recommended in the Baker Plan.

Although there is clearly a broad gap between these two competing visions of the parties, I regard it as a positive and helpful development that both sides have set out their proposals for the future, and the measures they can envisage to accommodate the concerns of the other side. The most recent round also agreed some extension of confidence-building measures in relation to family links between Saharawi people in the Territory and in the refugee camps in Algeria. The parties have agreed to meet again, at a date to be decided.