New York, 4 October 2021 (SPS) - UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres deplored the ongoing human rights violations in Western Sahara by the forces of the Moroccan occupation which mainly targets the human rights defenders and the Sahrawi journalists.
In a preliminary draft of the report on the situation in Western Sahara, Guterres noted that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is concerned about the information on restrictions imposed by Morocco to the rights to the freedom of expression and peaceful gatherings and association in Western Sahara, particularly after the events of November 2020.
He also cites in the document information stating a useless and disproportionate use of force by the Moroccan security forces to disperse demonstrations and searches of houses without authorization, arbitrary and illegal detentions and arrests, harassment, intimidation and destruction of property in the occupied territories.
UN Secretary General broaches, in the same document, the deplorable conditions of the Sahrawi prisoners detained by the forces of the Moroccan occupation.
Guterres said, in the latest report, he is deeply concerned about the deterioration of the situation in the Sahrawi territories, calling for the urgent relaunch of the peace process to reach a fair, lasting and mutually acceptable solution to the Sahrawi conflict.
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