Western European symposium urges action to enforce Namibia decree.

The United Nations Council for Namibia and the United Nations Commissioner for Namibia should take a decision to institute legal proceedings in the Netherlands as early as possible for the implementation of the Council's Decree No. 1 for the Protection of the Natural Resources of Namibia.

That recommendation was made by the Western European Regional Symposium on efforts to implement the Decree of the Council, which is the legal Administering Authority for Namibia until independence. Held in Geneva from 27 to 31 August, the symposium was attended by representatives of non-governmental organizations, lawyers, trade unions, parliamentarians and others.

The 1974 Decree bans mining and other activities in Namibia undertaken without the Council's permission.

The symposium recommended that the Council should proceed to instruct lawyers in the Netherlands to prepare appropriate briefs in order to commence legal proceedings in the courts of the Netherlands to implement the Decree at the earliest opportunity. The Council and the Commissioner should also prepare for similar legal action in other countries known to be involved in mining or transporting, processing or receiving Namibian minerals. Particular attention could be given to the case of Belgian companies, as...