Wednesday, December 10, 2008

McDonalds supports Moroccan illegal occupation of Western Sahara
Sirs:We learned from the press (01.12.08) that McDonalds Moroccan subsidiary has withdrawn some 'Happy Meal' toys including a map with the legally recognized borders between Western Sahara (WS) and Morocco, pretending to replace them with other toys with a map including WS inside Moroccan borders. This would mean a clear violation of International Law.As you are surely aware, WS is a Non-Self-Governing Territory as declared by the UN, militarily invaded and occupied by force by Morocco, whose sovereignty is recognized neither by UN nor by any country in the world. Morocco systematically violates human rights of Saharawi citizens, refusing to accept several UN resolutions and preventing their right to self-determination. This attitude of McDonalds Moroccan subsidiary discredits McDonalds image and reputation.We urge McDonalds to take the necessary actions to ensure that their Moroccan subsidiary respects and does not violate International Law on behalf of McDonalds.The Spanish solidarity movement for Western Sahara, along with many solidarity movements in other countries, is used to undertake serious campaigns to raise public awareness about companies and organizations that violate International Law. McDonalds should not be one of them.As you may see at the only official map issued by UN, http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/dpko/minurso.pdf, the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Western Sahara is not and has never been part of Morocco.Sincerely,