Bernard Anbataayela Mornah, National Chairman of PNC
Mr Bernard Anbataayela Mornah, the National Chairman of the People's National Convention (PNC) has, through his lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana San, has filed a suit against eight countries at the African Court of Human and People's Rights Holden at Arusha, Tanzania against what he alleges as Morocco’s colonisation of Western Sahara.
The defendants to this suit are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Malawi, Tanzania and Tunisia.
The 26-page application and legal submissions filed by the lawyers of Mr Mornah pursuant to Articles 1,2,7, 13 And 19, 20, 21, 23 African Charter On Human and Peoples Rights and Articles 1, 3,4, 7, 27 & 29 of the Constitutive Act of the African Court seeks to enforce the legal duty on the defendants to defend the sovereignty, territorial, integrity and independence of Western Sahara.
The crux of Mr Mornah’s claim is that, Morocco has refused to respect the colonial boundaries, continues to interfere in the internal affairs of Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and is currently illegally occupying, harbouring, mining and selling one of the world’s richest fisheries stock, abundant phosphate rock mines and oil reserves of Western Sahara.
As such, he is praying the African Court to cause the defendants to defend the human rights of the Saharawi people to self-determination, political participation, economic, social and cultural development as well as the right to dispose of their wealth and natural resources.
In particular, Mr Mornah is praying the African Court to compel and mandate the defendants individually and/or collectively to call an emergency session of the Assembly of the African Union and to sponsor a resolution for the adoption of legal, political and other measures by the African Union to restrain Morocco from further occupying parts of the territory of Western Sahara in any manner whatsoever and howsoever.
Below are the Reliefs sought by the Applicant, Bernard Anbataayela Mornah:
1. A DECLARATION that the failure of the Defendants individually and/or collectively to defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Western Sahara is illegal as it directly violates Articles 3 and 4 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union; Articles 1, 13 and 20 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights; Articles 1, 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Articles 1, 2 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
2. A DECLARATION that the failure of the Defendants individually and/or collectively to prevent Morocco from violating the human rights of the people of Western Sahara to dispose of their wealth and natural resources, to their economic, social and cultural development and peace guaranteed by Articles 19, 21, 22, 23 and 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, and similar provisions in common Article 1 of both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
3. AN ORDER of this Honourable Court compelling and mandating the Defendants individually and/or collectively to call an emergency session of the Assembly of the African Union and to sponsor a resolution for the adoption of legal, political and other measures by the African Union to restrain Morocco from further occupying parts of the territory of Western Sahara in any manner whatsoever and howsoever.
