Parties Conclude Another Round of Talks10.03 - 2011 16:31 Humanitarian News, 10 March 2011 - Representatives of the parties to the Western Sahara dispute, Morocco and the Frente Polisario, today wrapped up another round of talks, during which both sides continued to reject each other's proposal as a sole basis for future negotiations, United Nations envoy Christopher Ross said.
Hungering for justice: Saharawi political prisoners on hunger strike25.02 - 2011 Ali Salem Tamek, Brahim Dahane and Ahmed Naciri have spent over 16 months in prison without being sentenced by a court. Demanding to be tried fairly or released, they've now gone on hunger strike. Read a background briefing on these imprisoned human rights defeders here.Read more
Take Action for Human Rights Monitoring in Western Sahara11.02 - 2011 Recent tragic events in Western Sahara demonstrate the urgent need for human rights monitoring. MINURSO, the UN mission in Western Sahara, is the only contemporary UN peacekeeping mission in the world without a mandate to monitor human rights. In April the UN will address the renewal of MINURSO's mandate - we must ACT NOW to make sure that this time human rights monitoring is included!Read more
Germany indicts alleged Moroccan spy 11.02 - 2011 AP - German federal prosecutors have charged a 43-year-old Moroccan with spying on exiled opposition activists for his country's intelligence service.Read more
So much for human rights19.12 - 2010 By Jeremy Harding. Two things we can learn about Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara from the US embassy in Rabat, courtesy of WikiLeaks: 1) it’s a source of personal revenue for Moroccan army officers but 2) everything’s fine really.Read more
Amnesty International's annual report: Morocco / Western Sahara27.05 - 2010 Today, Amnesty International presented its annual report: "Amnesty International Report 2010: State of the World's Human Rights". Read the paragraphs on Morocco and Western Sahara here.
Moroccan court bails three Western Sahara activists18.05 - 2010 AFP - A Moroccan court has granted bail to three of six Western Sahara activists who were arrested last October on their return from refugee camps at Tindouf in Algeria, their lawyer said Tuesday. Picture: Rachid Sghayer leaving prisonRead more
Beware the Warnings of al Qaeda08.05 - 2010 The Atlantic Online - In countries where media are significantly restricted, and governments are more invested in how terror attacks are interpreted, an al Qaeda bias can be the stuff of high-stakes political capital.Read more
The arms sellers countries extend the conflict in Western Sahara06.05 - 2010 Guin Guin Bali - The Security Council of the United Nations has decided to extend its mandate in Western Sahara. Without the obligation of safeguarding Human Rights. Several permanent seats of the Security Council are in the hands of the main armaments sellers to Algeria and Morocco, engaged in an arms race allowed by the international community. Not being able to propose a solution to the conflict means extending the success of the arms market.Read more
Fate abducted Saharawi citizen still unknown05.05 - 2010 According to the Saharawi Collective of Human Rights Defenders, CODESA, a Saharawi citizen with Italian residence was abducted by Moroccan police officers in El Aaiún on 28 April. Read CODESA's report here.
Spain in favour of human rights monitoring in Western Sahara?27.04 - 2010 Growing rumours about Spain's alleged positive stance vis-à-vis human rights monitoring in its former colony, Western Sahara, seem to be confirmed by a statement from the country's deputy prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega. Or are they?Read more
European Parliamentarians demand release WS political prisoners22.04 - 2010 The President of the European Parliament's Intergroup for Western Sahara raised his concern about the situation of the Saharawi political prisoners on hunger strike in Moroccan jails. Read the press release here.Read more
RFK and HRW call for human rights monitoring in Western Sahara14.04 - 2010 The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights and Human Rights Watch are co-authors of a letter calling upon Ban Ki Moon's support at the UN Security Council for the establishment of a UN mechanism that would monitor and report on human rights in Western Sahara and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria. Read more
Morocco to appoint a Polisario deserter Ambassador to Spain10.04 - 2010 Ennahar Online/AFP - Morocco has asked Spain to accredit as ambassador to Madrid Souilem Ould Ahmed, a former member of the Sahrawi Polisario separatist group, who joined the Moroccan position, the newspaper El Pais reported on Saturday.Read more
Morocco must end harassment of Sahrawi activists09.04 - 2010 Amnesty International has called on the Moroccan authorities to end the ongoing harassment and intimidation of Sahrawi activists, as five of six who have been detained since last October began the fourth week of a hunger strike in protest at their detention without trial. Read more
Worldwide appeal for human rights monitoring in Western Sahara07.04 - 2010 Over 100 organisations and high profile individuals, including Frank Ruddy, former Deputy Chairman of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), have signed an open letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon calling for human rights monitoring to be included in MINURSO's mandate. Other signatories include organisations such as Frontline Defenders, trade unions, Belgian MEPs Frieda Brepoels and Bart Staes and Film Director Ken Loach. Read on to see the letter and the list of signatories in full.Read more
Africa's last colonySince 1975, three quarters of the Western Sahara territory has been illegally occupied by Morocco. The original population lives divided between those suffering human rights abuses under the Moroccan occupation and those living in exile in Algerian refugee camps. For more than 40 years, the Saharawi await the fulfilment of their legitimate right to self-determination.
Since 1975, three quarters of the Western Sahara territory has been illegally occupied by Morocco. The original population lives divided between those suffering human rights abuses under the Moroccan occupation and those living in exile in Algerian refugee camps. For more than 40 years, the Saharawi await the fulfilment of their legitimate right to self-determination.
