Geneva, 1 March 2020 (SPS) - Sahrawi activist Aminatou Haidar called on the UN Human Rights Commission to send inquiry commissions to the occupied areas of Western Sahara and respond to the grave violations committed by the Moroccan occupation against the Sahrawi civilian population.
Attending the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the 2019 alternative Nobel Prize winner expressed her deep "concern over the sufferings of Western Sahara people who have been militarily occupied by Morocco since 1975".
"Since that date, Morocco continues to systematically violate all our legitimate rights", denounced the icon of the Sahrawi peaceful resistance.
"Torture, cruel and degrading treatment, arbitrary detention, false accusations, expulsion from work, forced eviction from the Moroccan cities, defamation by the Moroccan press" are some of the methods used by the Moroccan regime against the Sahrawi citizens, cited by the Sahrawi human rights activist.
"These constant violations occur at a time when international observers cannot have access to the occupied territory," she said.
The "Sahrawi Gandhi" also warned that "to maintain this peaceful resistance" in Western Sahara, the UN "must take concrete measures to guarantee respect for fundamental rights and thus guarantee the Sahrawi people the exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination."
Haidar, human rights defender in Western Sahara, victim of torture, enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention, renewed her appeal to the international community to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and ensure the security of the population living in the Sahrawi areas occupied by Morocco. (SPS)
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