El Aaiun (occupied territories), Sept 17, 2012 (SPS) - The UN Special Rapporteur on torture Juan E. Mendez arrived Sunday night in the occupied city of El Aaiun, capital of Western Sahara, amid a tight security measures imposed by Moroccan occupation authorities, according to Saharawi rights sources.
The UN Rapporteur will held today and tomorrow talks with Moroccan occupation authorities, Saharawi rights organizations and victims of human rights abuses in occupied Western Sahara, according to agenda of the visit.
Several organizations of human rights and international institutions have documented the abuses of human rights perpetuated by Morocco in the occupied Western Sahara such as; Human Rights Watch, RFK Centre for Justice and Human Rights, European Parliament, High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Moreover, a number of international organizations and personalities have been prevented the access to occupied Western Sahara.
The visit of UN Special Rapporteur on torture Juan E. Mendez comes in the framework of preparing a comprehensive report on torture in the world, which will be an international reference to Morocco’s commitment to the Conventions against torture it signed, especially the UN Convention against Torture of 1984 and Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) of 2006. (SPS)
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