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Human rights in Western Sahara 

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Human rights in Western Sahara - Sprinko Encyclopedia, the free encyclopedia

Human rights in Western Sahara

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This article is part of the series:
History of Western Sahara
Wi-map.png
Western Sahara
Historical background

Western Sahara War · History of Morocco · Spanish Sahara · Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic · Spanish Morocco · Colonial wars in Morocco · Moroccan Army of Liberation · Ifni War · Harakat Tahrir · Polisario Front · Sahrawi National Union Party · ICJ Advisory Opinion · UN in Spanish Sahara · Madrid Accords · Green March · Berm (Western Sahara) · Human rights in Western Sahara
Disputed regions

Saguia el-Hamra · Río de Oro · Southern Provinces · Free Zone
Politics

Legal status of Western Sahara · Politics of Morocco · Politics of the SADR · Polisario Front · Former members of the Polisario Front · CORCAS · Moroccan Initiative for Western Sahara
Rebellions

Moroccan Army of Liberation · Harakat Tahrir · Polisario Front · Zemla Intifada · Independence Intifada
UN involvement

Resolution 1495 · Resolution 1754 · UN visiting mission · MINURSO · Settlement Plan · Houston Agreement · Baker Plan · Manhasset negotiations

 v • d • e 

Morocco sees Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces, and has been claiming it since its independence in 1956citation needed. 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 according to international organizations as the UN or the AU, Morocco illegally occupies the parts of Western Sahara under its control, as a last episode of the vision of a Great Morocco, 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 consider the Polisario Front as one of the two belligerent parties in the conflict, but do not recognize its auto-proclaimed SADR.

Contents

Human rights

The Western Sahara conflict has resulted in severe human rights abuses, most notably the aerial bombardments with Napalm & White phosphorus of the Sahrawi refugee camps, the consequently displacement of tens of thousands of Sahrawi civilians from the country, and the forced expropriation and expulsion of tens of thousands of Moroccan civilians by the Algerian government from Algeria in reaction to the Green March1 as well as violations of human rights and serious breaches of the Geneva convention by the Polisario Front, the Moroccan government and the Algerian government.2

International organizations have documented far less extensively the abuses perpetrated by the Polisario during this period in the refugee that it administred . In a 1996 report , amnesty international noted the allegations of past abuses committed by the Polisario and urged investigations( amnesty international , " human rights violations in western sahara" 29/04/96,pp : 15-16 . the report further noted that Morocco had failed to investigate" former polisario figures who held positions of responsibility in the Polisario security apparatus , and who are alleged to have been responsible for human rights abuses in the refugee camps", and who now reside in Morocco after having left the camps .. Amnesty international said that while the Polisario leadership had acknowledged the occurrence of human rights abuses in the past, they had "failed to provide any specific information about detentions, torture and ill-treatment and deaths in custody" or to remove the individuals responsible for thes abuses from positions of authority."

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.3

Organizations based in Western sahara and led by sahrawis who quit the camps have collected evidence , notably the direct testimonies of Polisario victims, in order to document and publicize those abuses . These apparently well-funded organizations publish reports in various languages ( see , e.g., committee for the bringing together of Sahraoui families , association of parents of Sahraoui victims of repression within the camps of Tindouf, association ofal-Massira for the defence of the rights of the confined persons and of the Moroccan prisoners within the camps of Tindouf, the truth about the Polisario prisons in the south of Algeria)and tour international capitals to denounce Polisario abuses . Morocco's official and quasi-official media highlight their activities while ignoring the work of organizations that expose abuses committed by Moroccan authorities .Regardless of the sources of their qsupport , these organizations have collected compelling first-hand testimony of the polisario's practices during the seventies and the eighties of torture, long-term imprisonment without trial or charge, and forced labor . Human rights watch has heard similar testimony of Polisario abuse practiced during those decades from victims and eyewitnesses whom it contacted through channelsindependent of these organizations.Human rights watch is not in a position to verify the extent to which the above-listed measures were carried out in the post-1989 period . From the absence of publicly available documentation of investigations conducted by the Polisario front and from recent interviews with victims of past abuses, it is clear that the leadership has done little over the lasty twenty years to investigate thoroughly and disclose in detail the severe abuses that their agents perpetrated, and to identify the perpetrators and hol them accountable.

Morocco has been repeatedly & heavily criticized for its actions in Western Sahara by international human rights organizations such as:

Polisario has received criticism from the French organization France Libertes on its treatment of Moroccan prisoners-of-war2, and on its general behaviour in the Tindouf refugee camps in reports by the Strategic Intelligence and Security Center45. 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 46.

One abuse that has been documented in the Polisario's holding of Moroccan prisoners of War in harsh conditions for as long as 14 years after the cessation of hostilities ( the international committee of the red cross (ICRC) has registreted 2155 POWs in the camps from 1984 to october 1995 . Human rights watch , keeping it secret, text accompanying footnotes 147-148 . See also BBC news, " polisario releases Moroccan POWs" september 2, 2003, at news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3200039.stm . The ICRC repatriated the final 404 POWs to Morocco on August 18, 2005 ;ICRC, annual report 2005: middle east and north africa, p.334) Human rights watch visited two POW camps in Tindouf in 1995 and while it did not conduct a thorough inquiry, found that conditions there fell short of international standards . Prisoners were forced to do difficult physical work in harsh desert conditions without pay for long hours . ( human rights , keeping it secret, text accompanying footnotes 151-53)they complained that they received inadequte medication and food and had to resort to theft to survive.(ibid, text accompnuing footnotes 150 and 154-55)

During the war (1975–91), both sides accused each other of targeting civilians. Neither claim has met with support abroad. The USA, EU and UN refused to include the Polisario Front on their lists of terrorist organizations. Polisario leaders maintain that they are ideologically opposed to terrorism.

In 2003 the Humanitarian organization france libertes issued a more detailed report on interviews with POWs still in custody .According to the report , since the Polisario began capturing Moroccan soldiers after the start of armed conflict in 1975, Polisario members executed POWs, tortured them, forced them to give blood without consent, detained them in inhuman conditions, and denied them adequate medical care ( france libertes, " the conditions of detentions of the Moroccan POWs" ) . In addition to subjecting the POWs to harsh treatment, the Polisario held hundrends of them for years after the cessation of active hostilities with Morocco in 1991, a practice that violates international humanitarian law, in the view of the UN security council( 'the security council in resolution 1495/2003 of july 31, 2003, " reaffirms its call upon thev Polisario front to release without further delay all remaining prisoners of war in compliance with international humanitarian law" ) it is worth mentioning in this respect that article 118 of the third Geneva convention states : " prisoners of war shall be released and repatriated without delay after cessation of active hostilities" .' the Polisario refused to release the POWs after the ceasefire took effect in 1991, arguing that the UN settlement plan linked the release of POWs to completion of eligible voters for the refendum on self-determination . Morocco's alleged failutre to meet its obligations under the plan meant that active hostilities had not ceased , the Ploisario claimed . However, article 6 of the third geneva convention seemingly excludes such an interpretation of " the cessation of active hostilities" it states that while high contracting parties may conclude agreements with one another, these may not "adversely affect the situation of prisoners in war, as defined by the present convention, nor restrict the rights which it confers upon them. It was until 2005 that the Polisario released the last if its POWs, fourteen years after the cessation of active hostilities.
See also Human rights in Morocco

Human rights are repressed in the Moroccan-controlled territories of Western Sahara, according to Amnesty International in 2003 and Human Rights Watch in 2004.4748. While the situation has improved since the early 1990s, the political liberalization in Morocco has not had the same effect on Western Sahara according to Amnesty International in 2004. 49, when it comes to having a pro-independence position. There are allegations of police abuse and torture by Polisario-organisations.50, and suspected dissidents are harassed. The United States State Department reported in 2000 that there were arbitrary arrests of Sahrawis and no organized labor 51. Prisoners of conscience were kept in squalid conditions according to Polisario-groups 52. Some Sahrawis also complain of systematic discrimination in favor of Moroccan settlers.

The Moroccan response to the demonstrations of 2005 was very aggressive, and provoked international reactions 53. In a criticised 54 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 200655, but some have since again been rearrested.

Freedom of movement The main and vital question about the human rights of the Sahraoui refugees in the four Tindouf camps, inside Algeria, is the freedom of movement in addition to the freedom of expression. Moroccan officials and most of the Moroccan media refer to camp refugees as' captives'. The Moroccan public opinion believe that if the Polisario front leadership grants the freedom of movement to the Sahraoui refugees , the camps would experience a mass exodus, which will obviously discredit the Polisario front and reduce substantially the international community's delivery of humanitarian aid to the camps . In this respect it is worth mentioning that the Constitution of the so-called SADR does not contain any provisions guaranteeing freedom of movement, although Polisario officials confirm every now and then that the refugees are allowed to leave the camps any time they would like to do so. Sahraouis need Algerian documents if they decide to leave the camps or travel abroad, to get such document it is not easy, unless you are a Polisario official, or you have useful contacts within the leaders of the Polisario, having said that, sahraoui refugees do not need any passport or document for that matter to enter either Mauritania or Morocco (in fact they are free to apply at the Moroccan consulate in Mauritania for entry into Western Sahara or any part of Morocco).

According to the report by the (pro-Morocco) European strategic intelligence and security( ESISC), lack of democracy and an oppressive climate under the leadership of the Polisario front, has led to several members leaving the refugee camps in Tindouf , most of them joined Morocco;, and the rest opted to go either To Mauritania , Spain , or to other European countries . Polisario To make sure that Sahraoui refugees, whether they are free or not to leave the camps in Tindouf Human rights Watch interviewed tens of Sahraouis , and asked them questions such as whether they used the official border crossing or took a clandestine route ; whether they told others of their plans or intended destination . according to the latest report of Human rights watch, of December, 2008, under the title “Human rights in western Sahara and the Tindouf refugee camps” former camp residents now living in western Sahara region confirmed that when they left the camps they concealed their ultimate destination, fearing that Polisario would block their departure if it became known" (human rights report, December, 2008) these same individuals for the most part said they kept their plans secret from others in the camps. They said they did so not only out of fear that the Polisario might prevent them from leaving, but also because the prevailing feeling in the camps is that is shameful to opt for life " under Moroccan occupation" "They taught us to hate Morocco from when we were young, that the Moroccans would torture and mistreat you" said a former Polisario official who left the camps by the end of 2006 and settled in Al-Ayoun , and this is how he left according to a statement he made to Human rights watch : " I left my wife, child, and six other relatives, in a truck. The owner of the truck is an officer in the security forces. When we reached the border post, he talked to the guards, and there was no problem; my parents and brothers are still in the camps, they have suffered no reprisals, because we left. The authorities came to my father and asked where i went, and he answered Mauritania, and that was it. (human rights watch interview, El –Ayoun, march 8, 2008 . The source asked to remain anonymous, fearing reprisals against family members who were still inn the refugee camps)

Hamra checkpoint, the main Algerian- Mauritanian border point, is a long drive on extremely difficult roads from the main cluster of refugee camps in Tindouf. Polisario and Algerian guard the checkpoint, registering the ID’s of drivers and passengers, sahraouis told human rights watch, if the guards asked the reason for their travel, sahraouis leaving for Moroccan controlled areas have to lie, explaining that they were travelling to Mauritania to visit relatives or for other purposes. The guards then allowed them to pass. Some Sahraoui refugees in Tindouf said that they have to obtain an authorization from the Polisario leadership headquarters in Rabouni camp to leave only to Mauritania; others said they got the approval at the border, provided they mention that they are actually going for a visit to Mauritania.

Yeslim Ould Ismail Ould el-Melkhi, a pharmacist, who left the Tindouf camps in April 2007, put it this way: “ it is pretty chaotic situation in the camps . Everybody is preoccupied with trying to provide for his basic needs, if you want to leave, you just make the necessary arrangements, and you head for the Hamra checkpoint. You show your ID, they write your name down, and they let you pass. They understand the problems that people face in the camps. You must not tell them you are going to Morocco, but otherwise they do not care if you leave “(human rights watch interview with Yeslim ould el-Melkhi, foum el –oued, March 5, 2008)

Abdellah Mala’ainine, who left the camps for Morocco in 2006, also said that leaving was not hard, provided you keep being discreet about your destination: “you keep the fact that you might want to go to Morocco to yourself, otherwise you might be seen as inciting others” (human rights watch interview with Abdullah Mala’ainine, El –Ayoun, March 5, 2008) Another possible way to leave the Tindouf refugee camps is the UN –administered program of family visits. This program involves flying Sahraoui families from the Moroccan- administered zone to the Tindouf refugee camps and vice versa, for visits lasting five days. According to statistics provided by the UNHCR, the program arranged visits for 6638 sahraouis between its launch on March 2004 and October 3, 2008. Almost half of this total traveled from the Tindouf camps to the Moroccan –controlled territory, had chosen to remain rather than return, according to the UNHCR. (Human rights watch telephone interview with Sergio call- Norena, UNHCR chief of operators for the Western Sahara, May 9, 2008. Calle- Norena left this post later 2008). The process of defection from the Tindouf camps and rallying to Morocco started in practical terms at the end of the fighting, hundreds of sahraoui refugees have decided to leave Tindouf and to return to Morocco, among them political and military leaders, head of tribes, and hundreds of Polisario army officers of all levels. This situation, which is due in part to the failure to reach a settlement as well as the realities of the four refugee camps in the Tindouf area, has led to what many Sahraouis denounce as the concentration of power in thee hands of few political stagnation, and lack of transparency , freedom of speech and movement, in this respect the brother of El Ouali Ould Mustapha Sayed, the Polisario’s first secretary general expressed on 31 October 2006 serious misgivings about the current leadership : “ many sahraoui officials alongside of simple soldiers, fled to Morocco because they could no longer stand the chaotic, static, and unjust status quo …. Some even say that this exodus towards Morocco and other destinations suits the Polisario’s leadership and that, in some ways, they encourage it. This because the Polisario’s leadership refuses to change its practices, reviews its policies and positions, or responds to the totality or at least to the majority of its critic’s claims”( see “arretons l’hemorragie” at www.arso.org/opinions/baba Sayed38.htlm)

Due to the increasing number of Sahroui refugees who decided to go back to Morocco after an over three decades of sufferings, and making use of the late king Hassan ii appeal “the homeland is clement and merciful”. Polisario has prevented the Sahraoui populations from fleeing the four tindouf refugee camps, following an order issued by their leader Mohammed Abdelaziz, during November 2007. According to the European committee in charge of the western Sahara issue, this blockade was ordered by Abdelaziz on the pretext that “if the return movement to Morocco continues at the current pace, the camps will be emptied”

Although the Polisario is making sure that no refugee is allowed to flee the Tindouf camps particularly to Morocco, it seems that the number has increased over the five years or so, in this respect it is worth mentioning the following among others, as nearly one hundred Sahraouis have returned to Morocco during the last week of February 2008 to Morocco from Tindouf camps , three groups consisting of several persons that took part in Gjijimat congress held during December 2008 in Tifariti region, in the Sahara, these refugees accompanied with 20 children, arrived in the border town of El Karkrat (380 km south of Dakhla), in response to the late Hassan ii call “ homeland clement and merciful”, convinced , according to their statements, that the Moroccan autonomy initiative in he region of the Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty offers promising prospects that meet the aspirations of the region’s people and the consecration of unity and development . Some of these of people expressed their joy and happiness to have returned to the motherland and their support to the autonomy project proposed by Morocco. They said that their return to the motherland is part of the renewal of their allegiance to his majesty king Mohammed vi ( a french- speaking daily “ aujourd(hui le Maroc” reported on Wednesday 27/12/2007) The number of sahraoui political, military and tribe leaders in addition to hundreds of families who opted to regain Morocco is increasing; according to the Chairman of the royal advisory council for Saharan affairs Khali Hena Ould Errachid around six thousands of sahraouis have regained Morocco. Reports coming on daily basis from the Tindouf refugee camps describe the deteriorating social and economic situations in addition to the lack of freedom of expression and movement, in this context the chairman of CORCAS made it clear that Morocco is determined to bring back home all refugees.(see:www.corcas.com).

Links :

  • human rights watch report, December 2008
  • www.arso.org/opinions/baba Sayed38.htm
  • www.corcas.com

According to the US State Department's 2006 report on Morocco "The law generally provides for freedom of speech and of the press. The government generally respected these rights in practice, as long as Islam, the monarchy, and territorial integrity (the inclusion of the Western Sahara) were not criticized. Throughout the year several publications tested the boundaries of press freedom."56

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."57. Foreign journalists and visiting missions have been prevented from visiting the territory and in some instances deported from it58. 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.57 Sahrawi human rights organizations have been refused permission to operate in Morocco: the Sahrawi branch of the Moroccan Forum for Truth and Justice (FVJ) was dissolved in 2003, and its members arrested59. 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, operate illegally, with activists occasionally subject to arrests and harassment, whereas others, such as the polisario close AFAPREDESA, 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 through online pictures and video. Morocco has responded by blockading Internet access to these sites in Morocco and in Western Sahara, prompting accusations of Internet censorship.60 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 61.

The "disappeared"

Fatma Lahmad, a young Sahrawi woman who "disappeared" in 1993, in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. She is still missing.

In 2010 around 520 Sahrawi civilians remained "disappeared" by Moroccan forces, according to human rights groups; some estimate that the total number of "disappeared" could be as high as 1,500 62. In the past, Morocco denied that any such political prisoners existed, but in 1991 released nearly 200 "disappeared" 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. (Amnesty International report 1999).

In May 2005, the remains of 43 Sahrawi "disappeared" were exhumed from secret prisons on the south of Morocco (Kalaat Maguna, Tagunit). They were detained in Western Sahara (Laayoune, Smara) & southern Morocco (Tan Tan, Assa) in the 1970s & 1980s.63

In 2008, the head of CORCAS & former leader of the Sahrawi National Union Party, Khelli Henna Ould Rachid declared:

"Some Moroccan army officers have made what might be called war crimes against prisoners outside the scope of the war ... Many civilians were launched into space from helicopters or buried alive simply for being Sahrawis"64.

The same year (January 4) construction workers uncovered a mass grave with approximately 15 skeletons in Smara, in former military barracks built during the 1970s, the period during which many Sahrawis disappeared or were murdered by Moroccan authorities65.

Resulting from the "Reconciliation tribunals" in Morocco in 2005, some graves of political dissidents of Hassan II regime (Sahrawis & Moroccans) were uncovered, although the responsible persons of those crimes have never been judged or their identities revealed. Also, the testimonies of witnesses haven't been published yet 66.

In March 2010, a new grave was found by Bou Craa workers on a phosphate mine with 7 corpses, supposedly Sahrawi nomads killed by Moroccan forces during the mid-1970s 67.

Lithium Western Sahara

As a political organization the Lithium Western Sahara has called on 'the war on civilians' to stop and army to fight army.Morrocan forces have on many occasions beaten Polisario peaceful protesters.Time and time againg Simbarashe Ndamba has called for the violence to stop labelling it as unethical.68

Freedom House

In late 2005, the international democracy watchdog Freedom House listed the abuses of human rights by Morocco. Those relating to political processes were: controlling elections and not allowing Sahrawis to form political associations (such as labor organizations) or non-governmental organizations. The paper included reports of repressive measures against demonstrators.69

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 human rights defenders 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.70

In June 2006, Amnesty International released its 2005 report on Morocco and Western Sahara 71, again citing excessive police force, leading to the death of two demonstrators. In the section: "Protests in Western Sahara" Amnesty reports: "Dozens of people were charged with inciting or participating in violence in the demonstrations. Over 20 were later convicted and some were sentenced to several years in prison. Among those sentenced were seven long-standing human rights defenders who were monitoring and disseminating information on the crackdown by the security forces. Two alleged that they had been tortured during questioning. An eighth human rights defender was detained awaiting trial at the end of the year. All eight were possible prisoners of conscience."

Child recruitment

War Resisters' International 72, stated in 1998 that Morocco conscripts citizens, including Sahrawis in the Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara, into the army; it was a punishable offence to resist. The WRI also cited sources from 1993 saying 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" 73,further citing a source from 1994 that "there are many human rights abuses against the Sahrawi population.So far there has been no investigation of the conduct of the Moroccan army in this conflict."74 Conscription for the Moroccan army was abolished in 2006.

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.75 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.76 Morocco claims it no longer holds any prisoners of war.

Present situation

In October, 2006, a secret report by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees leaked to the media by the (pro-Polisario) Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara77 detailing the deteriorating condition of human rights in the occupied territory of Western Sahara. The report details several eyewitness testimonies regarding violence associated with the Independence Intifada, particularly of the Moroccan police against peaceful demonstrators.

In March, 2010, the Sahrawi human rights activist Rachid Sghir was beaten by Moroccan policemen after an interview with the BBC 78.

Human rights in Polisario-controlled refugee camps

The Sahrawi refugee camp of Awserd, in Tindouf Province, Algeria.

The most severe accusations of human rights abuses by Polisario have been about the detention, killing and the abusive treatment of Moroccan prisoners of war from the late 70s to 2006. Other accusations were that some of the population are kept in the Tindouf refugee camps against their will and did not enjoy freedom of expression. Moroccan newspapers have aired reports of demonstrations being suppressed violently by Polisario forces in the Tindouf camps,79 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 allegationscitation needed; there are people who claim the Tindouf camps are a model for running refugee camps democratically 80.

In April 2010, the Sahrawi government call the UN to supervise Human rights in the liberated territories (Free Zone) and refugee camps, hoping Morocco do the same81.

Moroccan Prisoners of War

In April 2003, the France Libertés foundation (pro-Morocco) 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 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.82

In its report 83, 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. 84

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 2005.85

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.".47. However, in its 2006 update of the annual report, the references to a lack of basic freedoms had been removed.86

In 2005 the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants87 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."88

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 Watch89 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" 90.

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."91 CARITAS itself has not produced any similar criticisms.

In 1997 and 1999 respectively, the Canadian Lawyers Association for International Human Rights 92 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.93

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.94.

Polisario which was originally founded on a left-wing ideology, 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 95 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 96 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.

Child recruitment

According to War Resisters' International 97, "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." 98

See also

Liberty torch drawing.svg Human rights portal

References

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Human rights in Western Sahara".

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