London, April 6, 2013 (SPS) - Amnesty International urged, in a report published on its website on Wednesday, the Security Council to include a human rights monitoring component in the MINURSO’s mandate when renewing it this month.
“Amnesty International is concerned that human rights violations are continuing to take place in Western Sahara, particularly in relation to freedom of expression, association and assembly,” stated the report.
It also underlined that a UN human rights monitoring mechanism “would provide independent and impartial reporting on the current human rights situation.”
The report went on saying that in recent years, Saharawi human rights activists “have faced restrictions on their work, including harassment, surveillance by the security forces, limitations to their freedom of movement, and in some cases prosecution on grounds of threatening Morocco’s “internal” and “external” security.”
Meanwhile, added the Organization, Sahrawi pro-independence activists have been imprisoned following demonstrations calling for the right to self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, and some have reportedly been tortured or otherwise ill-treated during questioning by Moroccan law enforcement officials.
It explained that the repression of a peaceful gathering on Saturday 23 March in El Aaiun is an indication that Western Sahara continue to be a “red line” for Moroccan authorities, and that peaceful expression by Sahrawis of views contrary to the official Moroccan position on Western Sahara is repressed.
“The forcible dispersal of a demonstration and the assault on protesters in Western Sahara by Moroccan security forces around the visit of Christopher Ross, the UN Personal Envoy to the Secretary General for Western Sahara, highlight the need for human rights monitoring by the MINURSO,” indicated Amnesty International. (SPS)
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