Washington, Nov 12, 2013 (SPS) - The International ONG “Human Rights Watch” appealed Monday to the President of the Moroccan Government, Abdelilah Benkirane, to respect human rights of the Saharawi people in their claims for self-determination.
This call was made in a joint letter addressed by Human Rights Watch along with seven other regional and international human rights organizations, ahead of the election on Tuesday of the new members of the Human Rights Council by the UN General Assembly, to the Moroccan Prime Minister.
The letter indicated that Moroccan authorities “restrict discussion of Sahrawi self-determination”, whenever the Saharawi people express their right to self-determination.
“Moroccan authorities restrict discussion of Sahrawi self-determination by means that include laws that prohibit questioning Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara,” stated the letter.
HRW went on saying that Morocco “should abolish laws that effectively criminalize advocacy for Sahrawi self-determination,” adding that the Saharawis should be allowed “to express their views, demonstrate peacefully, and create legal associations, regardless of their political outlook.”
The letter, in this respect, underlined that the Moroccan authorities “should grant legal recognition to associations led by Sahrawi activists, such as the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Human Rights Violations (ASVDH) and the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA).”
HRW and the other NGOs also expressed concern about the unfair trials, citing the case of 24 Sahrawi prisoners of Gdeim Izik who were sentenced in February with heavy sentences by a military court in Rabat. (SPS)
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