Human rights in Western Sahara

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The Western Sahara conflict has resulted in severe human rights abuses, most notably the displacement of tens of thousands of Sahrawi civilians from the country and the forced expropriation and expulsion of tens of thousends of Moroccan civilians by the Algerian government from Algeria in reaction to the Green March^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]} as well as violations of human rights and serious breaches of the Geneva convention by the Polisario Front and Algerian government.^[9]

Both Morocco and the Polisario accuse each other of violating the human rights of the populations under their control, in the Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara and the Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria, respectively. Morocco and organisations such as France Libertés consider Algeria to be directly responsible for any crimes committed on its territory, and accuse the country of having been directly involved in such violations.^[10][11]

Morocco has been repeatedly criticised by international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International[1][2][3], Human Rights Watch[4][5] and the World Organization Against Torture[6][7][8], Freedom House[9], Reporters Without Borders[10], the International Committee of the Red Cross (accusing the country of employing napalm against civilian refugee columns in 1975 ^[12][13]), and in 2006 in a report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights[11] for its actions in Western Sahara.

Polisario has received criticism from the French organization France Libertes on its treatment of Moroccan prisoners-of-war^[14], and on its general behaviour in the Tindouf refugee camps in reports by the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center^[15][16][17]. A number of Former members of Polisario who have joined Morocco accuse the organisation of abuse of human rights and sequestration of the population in Tindouf ^{[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]}.

During the war (1975-91), both sides accused each other of targeting civilians. Moroccan claims of Polisario terrorism has generally little to no support abroad, with the USA, EU and UN all refusing to include the group on their lists of terrorist organizations. Polisario leaders maintain that they are ideologically opposed to terrorism.

Contents 1 Status of the parties 2 Human rights in Moroccan controlled Western Sahara 2.1 Freedom of expression 2.2 The "disappeared" 2.3 Freedom House 2.4 Amnesty International 2.5 Child recruitment 2.6 Polisario POWs 2.7 Present situation 3 Human rights in Polisario-controlled refugee camps 3.1 Moroccan Prisoners of War 3.2 Freedom of movement 3.3 Cuba students programme 3.4 Child recruitment 4 References 5 Related Links 6 See also

[edit] Status of the parties

Morocco sees Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces, and has been claiming it since its independence in 1956. Morocco considers the Polisario Front as a separatist movement given the Moroccan origins of many of its leaders, and a puppet in the hands of Algeria.

The Polisario Front argues that Morocco illegally occupies the parts of Western Sahara under its control, and considers itself a national liberation movement aiming at leading the disputed territory to independence under the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

The United States, the European Union and the United Nations do not recognize the sovereignty of Morocco over Western Sahara, but do see it as the administrative power pending a solution to the conflict. They see the Polisario Front as one of the two belligerant parties in the conflict, but do not recognize its auto-proclaimed SADR.

[edit] Human rights in Moroccan controlled Western Sahara

• See also: Human rights in Morocco

Independence-minded Sahrawis' human rights are repressed in the Moroccan-controlled territories of Western Sahara, according to human rights reports ^{[12] [13]}. While the situation has improved since the early 1990s, the political liberalization in Morocco proper has not generally reached Western Sahara ^[14], when it comes to having a pro-independence position. There are allegations of police abuse and torture[15], and suspected dissidents are harassed and refused necessary documents such as passports[16]. The United States State Department reported in 2001 that there are arbitrary arrests of Sahrawis and no organized labor ^[17]. Prisoners of conscience are kept in squalid conditions ^[18]. Some Sahrawis also complain of systematic discrimination in favor of Moroccan settlers ^[19].

The Moroccan response to the independence demonstrations of 2005 was heavy-handed, and provoked international censure ^[20]. In a criticised ^[21] mass trial in December 2005, 14 leading Sahrawi activists were sentenced to prison sentences; many more had previously been detained. Most of these prisoners were later released by royal decree in the spring of 2006[22]^[23], but some have since again been rearrested.

[edit] Freedom of expression

Freedom of expression is restricted on about the same level as in Morocco on subjects such as state officials, Islam or the political system, but most persecution of civil activists tend to be related to pro-independence statements. The US State Department's 2005 report on Morocco's attitude towards human rights noted that "[i]n 2004 various international human rights groups estimated that 700 persons were imprisoned for advocating Western Saharan independence."[24]. Foreign journalists and visiting missions have been prevented from visiting the territory and in some instances deported from it[25]^[26]. In 2004, Moroccan newsman Ali Lmrabet was sentenced to heavy fines and ten year ban on practicing journalism, for referring in an article to the Sahrawis in Tindouf, Algeria, as being "refugees" rather than "sequestered" or "kidnapped", as is the official Moroccan position.[27] Attempts at forming Sahrawi human rights organization have been refused permission to operate in the country: the Sahrawi branch of the Moroccan Forum for Truth and Justice (FVJ) was dissolved in 2003, and its members arrested[28][29]. They were later released in the royal amnesties of 2006, or before that, even if some have since been rearrested again. Presently, several organisations, such as the ASVDH[30], operate illegally, with activists occasionally subject to arrests and harassment, whereas others, such as AFAPREDESA,[31] are mainly active in exile.

Sahrawi activists have tried to compensate for this through extensive use of the Internet, reporting from illegal demonstrations, and documenting police abuse and torture wounds through online pictures and video. Morocco has responded by blockading Internet access to these sites from within the Kingdom and the parts of Western Sahara under its control, prompting accusations of Internet censorship.[32][33] On 20 December 2005 Reporters Without Borders reported that Morocco has added Anonymizer.com to its Internet blacklist, days after the association recommended the service to Moroccans and Sahrawis wishing to access the banned Sahrawi sites. "These websites, promoting independence for Western Sahara, have been censored since the beginning of December" it reports ^[34].

[edit] The "disappeared"

Around 450 Sahrawi civilians remain politically "disappeared", according to human rights groups; some estimate that the total number of "disappeared" could be as high as 1,500 ^[35]. In the past, Morocco denied that any such political prisoners existed, but in 1991 releasead some hundreds of prisoners, many of whom had been held in secret detention centers since the mid-1970s. Since then, there have been no further releases of "disappeared" prisoners. Amnesty International stated in a 1999 report that

The men, women and even children who "disappeared" in Western Sahara came from all walks of life. Many were detained because of their alleged pro-independence activities, support for the Polisario Front, and opposition to Morocco's control of the Western Sahara. Others, including elderly people and children, "disappeared" because of their family links with known or suspected opponents to Moroccan government policy in Western Sahara. ^[36]

In 2005, mass graves of dead political dissidents, overwhelmingly Sahrawi, were uncovered ^[37], containing bodies of some of the "disappeared".

[edit] Freedom House

In late 2005, the international democracy watchdog Freedom House listed among the abuses of human rights by Morocco relating in particular to political processes, such as controlling elections and not allowing Sahrawis to form political associations (such as labor organizations) or nongovermental organizations. The paper included reports of repressive measures against peaceful demonstrators up to and including routine arbitrary killing.

[edit] Amnesty International

After repeatedly calling attention to alleged human rights violations in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, Amnesty International (AI) received, in April, 2006, two detailed responses from the Moroccan Ministry of Justice. The Ministry declared that defenders of the human rights were not stopped and were not taken into custody because of their opinions, but because of their implication in acts liable to infractions of the law. It stressed that they were guaranteed their full civil liberties and gave precise details concerning the investigations in progress into the allegations of torture relating to Houssein Lidri and Brahim Noumria. In addition, the letter refuted the specific allegations of harassing and intimidation with regard to other demonstrators in the Sahara.

Amnesty Internaional responded by claiming that the authorities have not answered the principal concern of the organization regarding the equity of the lawsuits of Sahrawi protestors. For instance, no mention was made in connection with the allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, and allegations that defendants were not authorized to quote witnesses for the defence. ^[38]

In June, AI released its 2005 report on Morocco and Western Sahara [39], again citing excessive police force, including extrajudicial killing and expressed concerns that prisoners of conscience are being held for lenghty jail sentences. It reiterated concerns about torture and ill-treatment of prisoners.

[edit] Child recruitment

According to War Resisters' International, Morocco conscripts citizens, including Sahrawis in the Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara, into the army; it is a punishable offence to resist. The WRI also states that "[r]eports indicate that Moroccan authorities in the south have strongly urged under-eighteens to enlist in the armed forces. Fourteen and fifteen-year-old boys in southern Morocco and in the occupied territory of Western Sahara have been allowed to enlist",further noting that "there are many human rights abuses against the Sahrawi population. So far, as the Western Sahara is still an unresolved question, there has been no investigation of the conduct of the Moroccan FAR in this conflict."

[edit] Polisario POWs

In addition to the civilian "disappeared", Polisario accuses the Moroccan government of refusing to provide information on Sahrawi prisoners of war, who were captured on the battlefield during the war years (1975-91). Morocco long denied holding any war prisoners, but in 1996 released 66 Polisario combatants, who were then evacuated to the refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria under international supervision.[40] Polisario maintains that some 150 POWs are still missing after being captured by the Moroccan army, and requests that the Moroccan government shall release them or clarify their fate.[41] Morocoo claims it no longer holds any prisoners of war.

[edit] Present situation

In October, 2006, a secret report by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees leaked to the media^[26] detailing the deteriorating condition of human rights in the occupied territory of Western Sahara. The report detailed several eyewitness testimonies regarding violence associated with the Indepedence Intifada, particularly of the Moroccan police against peaceful demonstrators.

[edit] Human rights in Polisario-controlled refugee camps

Most of the criticism directed against Polisario has been concerned with abusive treatment of Moroccan prisoners of war from the late 70s to 1990s, but Morocco also maintains that the Sahrawis are kept in the Tindouf refugee camps against their will. Moroccan state press have aired reports of demonstrations being suppressed violently by Polisario forces in the Tindouf camps,[42] but these reports have not been confirmed by international media or human rights organizations.

Several international and Spanish human rights and aid organizations are active in the camps on a permanent basis, and contest the Moroccan allegations; some instead claim the Tindouf camps are a model for running refugee camps democratically ^{[43] [44]}.

[edit] Moroccan Prisoners of War

In April 2003, the France Libertés foundation led an international mission of inquiry on the conditions of detention of Moroccan prisoners of war long held by the Polisario in the refugee camps in Algeria and in Polisario-held parts of Western Sahara. The prisoners (under Red Cross supervision since the 80s) had been held since the end of hostilities, awaiting the conclusion of a formal peace treaty, but as the cease-fire dragged on over a decade, many prisoners had at this time been held between 15 and 20 years, making them among the longest-serving POWs in the world. Polisario had begun releasing a few hundred prisoners at a time in the early 1990s, in what they referred to as "humanitarian gestures", but its refusal to release the last prisoners remained under criticism from the United Nations.[45]

In its report, the French foundation produced detailed accusations of torture, forced labour, arbitrary detentions and summary executions of captured soldiers, and claimed that these and other systematic abuses had evaded the Red Cross. Most of the crimes had allegedly been committed in the 1980s, but some were of a later date. The foundation, which supports Sahrawi self-determination and had worked in the camps before, decided to suspend "its interventions in the Saharawi refugee camps of Tindouf where the forced labour of the POWs has been going on for the past 28 years". The report also accused Algeria of direct involvement in crimes against the POWs, and overall responsibility for their situation.^{[46][47][48][49][50][51]}.

This scathing criticism likely contributed to the Polisario's decision to advance the pace of its unilateral releases of POWs, leading to the release of the last POWs in 2005.[52]

[edit] Freedom of movement

In a report published in 2003 Amnesty International concluded that "Freedom of expression, association and movement continued to be restricted in the camps controlled by the Polisario Front, near Tindouf in southwestern Algeria. Those responsible for human rights abuses in the camps in previous years continued to enjoy impunity.".^[53]. However, in its 2006 update of the annual report, the references to a lack of basic freedoms had been removed.[54]

In 2005 the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants[55] stated: "The Algerian Government allowed the rebel group, Polisario, to confine nearly a hundred thousand refugees from the disputed Western Sahara to four camps in desolate areas outside Tindouf military zone near the Moroccan border 'for political and military, rather than humanitarian, reasons,' according to one observer. According to Amnesty International, "This group of refugees does not enjoy the right to freedom of movement in Algeria. [...] Those refugees who manage to leave the refugee camps without being authorized to do so are often arrested by the Algerian military and returned to the Polisario authorities, with whom they cooperate closely on matters of security.' Polisario checkpoints surrounded the camps, the Algerian military guarded entry into Tindouf, and police operated checkpoints throughout the country."^[56]

The main concern of most human rights organizations seems to be the refugees' problems of basic subsistence, living on a meager diet of foreign aid. Human Rights Watch[57] carried out an extensive research mission in the region in 1995, visiting Morocco, Western Sahara and the Tindouf refugees. Its conclusion on the human rights situation for the Sahrawis in Tindouf was that "we found conditions to be satisfactory, taking into account the difficulties posed by the climate and desolate location" ^[58].

Pierre Olivier Louveaux, who went to the camps with a CARITAS humanitarian mission, accuses the refugee camp administration of discriminating treatment between refugees, and the Polisario of having set up a "system of clientelism that enables the leaders to keep a strong hold over the population. People have very few established rights. Everyone has to beg for the favours of the leaders. These favours can consist, for example, of a medical operation abroad, studies, a job within the Polisario Front, the right to go out of the camps and, probably economic favours as well."^[59] CARITAS itself has not produced any similar criticisms.

In 1997 and 1999 respectively, the Canadian Lawyers Association for International Human Rights (CLAIHR) performed two investigative missions to Western Sahara, the first focused on the Tindouf refugee camps, and the second on conditions in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. The conclusion of the Tindouf mission states that "the refugee camps in Algeria are highly organized and provide more than just the most basic needs to their inhabitants" and that "It appears that a significant effort is being made to ensure that the population is well-educated and that they participate in the governance of the camps.[60]

[edit] Cuba students programme

Polisario is regularly accused by Morocco of deporting Sahrawi children by groups of thousands to Cuba for Communist indoctrination, something which has been supported by alleged former Tindouf refugees now living in Morocco, and former Cuban government officials. This would be considered a case of forcible family separation. Morocco has also alleged that the Polisario exports Sahrawi minors to Cuba in order to force them into child prostitution and to train them as child soldiers. ^{[61] [62] [63] [64] [65] [66] [67][27]}.

Polisario -- which was originally founded on a vaguely left-wing ideology, but has consistently denied being Communist -- responds that the children in Cuba, numbering tens or hundreds rather than thousands, are students at Cuban universities, and are there of their own free will under a UNHCR-sponsored student exchange program. It regards the Moroccan accusations as a smear campaign aimed at cutting off access to education for Sahrawi refugees.

While there exists primary education, there are no universities in the refugee camps, and so Sahrawis have to go abroad to study. Similar programmes exist for Sahrawi students in cooperation with universities in Algeria, Spain and Italy, and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has repeatedly pleaded for more countries to accommodate Sahrawi students. The UNHCR, which oversees the program, has twice investigated the Moroccan claims. In its Machel report of 2003, after having interviewed all 252 Sahrawi students in Cuba, it states that it was the children’s own personal will to continue taking advantage of the opportunity to study in Cuba.

In 2005, the UNHCR again examined the issue, after continued Moroccan allegations. The number of students was now down to 143, and the program was not expected to be renewed after the graduation of those students. The report states that many of the Saharan refugee children have availed themselves of scholarships offered within the framework of bilateral relations between the refugee leadership and various countries. The report suggests that this scholarship programme meets the standards of treatment and care required by the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child.

[edit] Child recruitment

According to War Resisters' International, "during the guerrilla war" - i.e. between 1975 and 1991 - "Polisario recruitment formed an integral part of the education programme. At the age of 12, children were either integrated into the National School of 12 October which prepares the political and military cadres, or they have been sent abroad to Algeria, Cuba and Libya to receive military training as well as regular schooling. At conscription age (17) they returned from abroad to be incorporated into Polisario's armed forces. They received more specialised training in engineering, radio, artillery, mechanics and desert warfare. At nineteen they became combatants." ^[68]

[edit] References

[edit] Related Links

• Amnesty International: Morocco/Western Sahara 2006 Report
• Freedom House: Western Sahara 2006 Report
• Human Rights Watch: Morocco - Summary page for Morocco/Western Sahara
• IFEX: Morocco Puts Squeeze on Western Sahara News - IFEX
• UNHCR Western Sahara page
• Human Rights Watch: Keeping It Secret - 1995 investigative mission to Western Sahara and Tindouf.
• The European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center (ESISC) report on the Polisario
• ESISC's critical report on the refugee camps during the last floodings
• Report of an independent Committee of inquiry into allegations of violations of Human Rights against the Polisario Front
• France Libertés - Report: International Mission of Inquiry - The Conditions of Detentions of the Moroccan POWs Detained in Tindouf (Algeria)
• FreeThemNow.org - Solidarity page with the Moroccan POWs
• ARSO human rights page ARSO's collection of human rights material
• ARSO political prisoners' page
• CLAIHR visiting mission 1997 - conditions in the Tindouf refugee camps
• CLAIHR visiting mission 1999 - conditions in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara (pdf)
• Asociación de Familiares de Presos y Desaparecidos Saharauis (AFAPREDESA) - Exile-based Sahrawi human rights organization
• Asociación Saharaui de las Víctimas de las Violaciones de Derechos Humanos por Marruecos (ASVDH) - Illegal El Aaiun-based Sahrawi human rights organization
• Association Marocaine de Droits Humaine (AMDH) - Moroccan human rights organization
• International Bureau for the Respect of Human Rights in Western Sahara (BIRDHSO) - Sahrawi human rights organization in exile (Switzerland)
• US State Department - 2005 Country Report for Western Sahara

[edit] See also

• Human rights in Morocco
• History of Western Sahara
• Human rights in western New Guinea