Washington DC, April 2, 2015 (SPS) - Saharawi activist and President of the Collective of Saharawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA), Ms. Aminetu Haidar, on Tuesday highlighted the continuous Moroccan human rights violations against the Saharawi civilians, calling for international pressure to allow independent observers into Western Sahara, occupied by Morocco since 1975.
“The United Nations mission in the territory, MINURSO, has been in the territory for 23 years without fulfilling its mandate of organizing the referendum and has also been unable to protect the Saharawi citizens from human rights abuses” Aminetu Haidar, during her intervention at a conference about human rights in Western Sahara under the title “the Role of International Organizations and Sahrawi Women”.
“More than 60 foreigner observers, including three Americans, were expelled out of Western Sahara during the last year, while Morocco continues to act with impunity” she added.
The activist went on saying that the MINURSO has neither fulfilled its mandate to organize a referendum nor been able to protect the Saharawi citizens.
David Mckean and Katherine Valencia from the Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, who moderated the conference, stressed the importance of human rights component within MINURSO mandate.
Carne Ross, the Founder and Executive Director of Independent Diplomat, emphasized the need to put the Saharawi conflict in its legal frame as a decolonization issue and to find creative ways to expose the conflict to the world.
Organized by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, the conference is part of a tour in the United States of America by Aminatou Haidar, to shed light on the serious situation of human rights in the occupied territories of Western Sahara. (SPS)
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