Solidarity-Support

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International call on UN to monitor occupied Western Sahara

28 / 04 / 2009 | Solidarity-Support

Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called upon the UN Security Council to expand the Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to include human rights monitoring.

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Amnesty: UNSC members should support independent human rights monitoring

28 / 04 / 2009 | Solidarity-Support

In a letter sent to members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Amnesty International called for the inclusion of a human rights monitoring component in the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), when it votes for its renewal on 30 April 2009. Amnesty International believes that independent monitoring of the human rights situation in Western Sahara, a territory annexed by Morocco in 1975, and the Tindouf camps under the authority of the Polisario Front in south-western Algeria is integral to ensuring the human rights protection of the populations.

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Frontline: Torture and solitary confinement of human rights defender Mr Yahya Mohamed el Hafed Aaza

26 / 04 / 2009 | Solidarity-Support

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports of the torture and solitary confinement of human rights defender, Mr Yahya Mohamed el Hafed Aaza, who is currently being detained in Ayat-Melol prison. Yahya Mohamed el Hafed Aaza is a member of the Tan-Tan Branch of the Association Marocaine des Droits de l’Homme – AMDH (Moroccan Association of Human Rights), as well as a member of the constitutive assembly of the Collectif des Défenseurs Sahraouis des Droits de l’Homme – CODESA (Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights defenders).

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Middle East human rights group: ‘tangible erosion of the human rights gains achieved by Moroccans over the last decade’

12 / 04 / 2009 | Solidarity-Support

A new report from Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies notes,

‘Morocco, unfortunately, has seen a tangible erosion of the human rights gains achieved by Moroccans over the last decade. A fact most clearly seen in the failure if the government to adopt a set of institutional reforms within the security and judicial sectors intended to prevent impunity for crimes. Morocco’s relatively improved status was also undermined by the intolerance shown for freedom of expression, particularly for expression touching on the king or the royal family, or instances of institutional corruption. Protests against the status of the Moroccan-administered Western Sahara region were also repressed and several Sahrawi activists were referred to a military tribunal for the first time in 14 years.’

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Aminatou Haidar was nominated for 2008 Nobel Peace Prize by American Friends Service Committee, recipient of 1975 Nobel Peace Prize

13 / 10 / 2008 | Solidarity-Support

« The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is pleased to nominate for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Aminatou Haidar of the Western Sahara. Aminatou Haidar is a mother and human rights activist engaged in the nonviolent struggle against the occupation of the Western Sahara by Morocco and for the recognized but unrealized right of the Sahrawi people for self-determination. Both in her own right and as an example of the many mothers who take public stands at great personal risk for the sake of a future for their children, Aminatou Haidar claims our deep respect. We commend her to the Nobel Committee for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize. »

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Brahim Sabbar receives over 100 letters of support from Amnesty members world wide

08 / 09 / 2008 | Solidarity-Support

On behalf of former political prisoner Brahim Sabbar, ASVDH has received dozens of letters from grassroots members of Amnesty International from a diverse number of countries. These letters, coming from as far away as Sweeden, Australia and Brazil, congratulate Mr Sabbar on his release from Moroccan prison in June.

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Freedom House: Worst of the Worst: The World’s Most Repressive Societies 2008 [Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara]

05 / 05 / 2008 | Reports, Solidarity-Support

As the occupying force in Western Sahara, Morocco controls local elections and works to ensure that independence-minded leaders are excluded from both the local political process and the Moroccan Parliament. Western Sahara is not listed separately on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, but corruption is believed to be at least as much of a problem as it is in Morocco.

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