Geneva (Switzerland), March 21, 2025 (SPS) – The International Service for Human Rights has warned of the escalating pace of human rights violations in Western Sahara due to the absence of effective international monitoring.
In a speech delivered by activist Yakouta Mokhtar, the International Service for Human Rights condemned the ongoing Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, warning of the rise in severe human rights violations amid the lack of any effective international monitoring.
The Sahrawi human rights activist emphasized that the continued illegal occupation of Western Sahara represents a blatant failure by the international community to end colonization and protect human rights. She stressed that Sahrawis, including activists and human rights defenders, face systematic repression merely for demanding their legitimate rights, while international resolutions regarding their right to self-determination remain frozen and unimplemented.
The organization highlighted that Moroccan authorities have continued to block United Nations human rights mechanisms from accessing the occupied territories since 2015, considering this ban a reflection of Morocco’s systematic lack of cooperation with the international community. This has allowed Morocco to intensify its violations without any accountability or monitoring.
The organization also documented cases of arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, racial and economic discrimination, as well as the systematic suppression of freedoms and the plundering of Western Sahara’s natural resources, further exacerbating the suffering of the Sahrawi people under occupation.
In conclusion, the International Service for Human Rights called on the Human Rights Council to take strict measures to ensure Morocco complies with its international obligations and to allow UN mechanisms access to the occupied territories, while protecting Sahrawi human rights defenders from any retaliatory actions.
The organization also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all Sahrawi political prisoners, an end to the illegal exploitation of the region’s resources, and the imposition of sanctions on companies involved in these violations.
The organization affirmed that the continued international disregard for the situation in Western Sahara undermines the credibility of the United Nations in protecting human rights and emboldens the Moroccan occupation to continue its violations with impunity.
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