CM/Res. 555(XXIX)
RESOLUTION ON THE QUESTION OF THE COMORO ISLAND OF MAYOTTE
The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity meeting in its Twenty - Ninth Ordinary Session in Libreville, Gabon, from 23 rd June to 3 July, 1977
Noting the Secretary-General’s report on the question of the Comoro Isla nd of Mayotte;
Having heard the statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Comoro;
Having taken note of the report of the Ad-Hoc Committee of 7 set up under Resolution CM/496 (XXCII) in Mauritius;
Recalling that the entire population of the Republic of Comoro head, during the Referendum of 22 December 1974, expressed by an overwhelming majority its desire to accede to independence in political unity and secure its territorial integrity;
Considering that the so-called referendum imposed on the people Comorian Island of Mayotte constitutes an open aggression against the State of Comoro, and a violation of the territorial integrity of the Comoros;
Considering that France’s occupation of the Comoro Island of Mayotte constitutes a naked aggression against the State of the OAU and the U.N.;
Considering that such an attitude on the part of France constitutes a characterized violation of OAU principles and relevant resolutions consecrating, in particular, the inviolability of frontiers inherited from colonial administration;
Considering that the establishment of military bases in the Indian Ocean by France and any other imperialist powers constitutes a naked aggression against the independent States of Africa and Asia;
Recalling the relevant resolutions of the U.N. and the OAU, particularly the resolution adopted by the OAU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Mauritius, especially Article 10 thereof;
CONDEMNS the so-called referenda held in Mayotte on 8 and 11 February 1 976, which it voids and rejects outright,
any other form of referenda or consultation that might subsequently be organized by France in the Comoro Island of Mayotte;
any law of regulation enacted by a French governmental or legislative body to legalise the presence of any form of French colonial power in the territory of Comoro;
STRONGLY CONDEMNS France’s illegal occupation of the Comoro Island of Mayotte, which constitutes an aggression against the national unity, the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of the Independent Republic of Comoro, as well as the independence and sovereignty of Africa as a whole;
DEMANDS France’s immediate withdrawal from the Comoro Island of Mayotte which is an integral part of the Republic of Comoro, and its respect f or the sovereignty of that State;
REAFFIRMS its total solidarity with the government and people of the Republic of Comoro in their struggle for the total liberation of their national territory;
REQUESTS the OAU Secretary-General, the African Group in the United Nations and the Ad-Hoc Committee, in particular, to ensure that the question of the Comoro Island of Mayotte becomes a permanent item on the Agenda of:
The U.N.
The Non-Aligned Countries
The League of Arab States
The Islamic Conference
All other international conferences or meeting attended by OAU Member States;
CALLS ON the current Chairman of the OAU to undertake the necessary consultations with the President of the Republic of France to resolve this problem in accordance with the relevant OAU and U.N. resolutions;
CALLS ON the individual OAU Member States also to take steps with the French authorities to secure France’s immediate withdrawal from Mayotte and to ensure that the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the Republic of Comoro are respected;
CALLS ON the OAU Secretary-General to undertake discussions with the U.N. Secretary-General for the necessary steps to be taken to ensure the implementation of Resolution No. 31/4 of 21 October 1976 on the question of the Comoro Island of Mayotte, adopted by the Thirty-First U.N. General Assembly;
CALLS FURTHER ON the OAU Secretary-General to get in contact with the Secretaries-General of the League of Arab States and the Islamic Conference, the current Chairman of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries with a view to co- ordinating the actions of these organizations to ensure the implementation of their various resolutions adopted on the question of the Comoro Island of Mayotte;
REQUESTS the OAU Secretary-General to dispatch a mission to the Comoro, including Mayotte, to assess the situation and submit a report to the next OAU Summit Conference;
CALLS ON the Member States and the General Secretariat of the OAU to give a wider publicity to the information of the situation in Como ro during the anniversary of important dates in the annals of Comoro;
CALLS ON the Committee of Twelve and the OAU Secretary -General to undertake consultations with the Committee of Twelve and the Secretary -General of the League of Arab States so as to consider the possibilities of granting, within the framework of Afro-Arab Co-operation, an urgent and special financial assistance to the Comoro which is facing huge financial difficulties especially following the repatriation of the 16,000 Comorians from Majunga (Madagascar) and the volcanic eruption which rendered more than ten thousand people homeless;
APPEALS to all OAU Member States and international organizations to grant a direct assistance to the Comoro State to enable it to cope with the difficulti es facing it, safeguard its independence, territorial integrity, national sovereignty and unity of the people;
HOPES that a joint economic ECA/OAU Mission would visit MORONI to determine with the Comoro authorities the economic priorities of the State,
CALLS on the OAU Secretary-General to take every practical step to ensure that the next meeting of the Committee of 7 is held at Ministerial level, in MORONI in the month of August 1977, before the Thirty-Second U.N. General Assembly;
REQUESTS the current Chairman of the OAU to take every step to normalize relations between the governments of Comoro and Madagascar.