Occupied El Aaiun, 10 December 2025 (SPS) – The Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State (ASVDH) has recorded a rise in serious human rights violations committed by the Moroccan occupation in Western Sahara.
The association called on UN bodies and relevant international institutions to assume their responsibilities and ensure the protection of civilians in the occupied cities of Western Sahara.
In its statement marking International Human Rights Day, observed every year on 10 December, the Sahrawi human rights body denounced “the escalation of serious human rights violations in the occupied part of Western Sahara, the continuation of restrictive policies on freedoms, the expansion of various forms of repression, and the growing daily suffering of Sahrawis.”
The association also noted “an increase in bans on the right to peaceful assembly and expression, continued harassment of human rights defenders, a rapid expansion of settlement policies and land confiscation accompanied by systematic economic repression, and a rise in arbitrary arrests and harsh sentences. This comes amid ongoing disregard for the cases of victims of enforced disappearance and missing persons, with no progress in uncovering the truth or providing justice to affected families—further deepening a humanitarian wound that has persisted for decades.”
On this occasion, the association stressed that commemorating International Human Rights Day “cannot be complete without restoring the values on which this Declaration was founded and making them a tangible reality in the lives of all peoples—foremost among them the Sahrawi people, who continue to demand their legitimate rights, especially their right to self-determination and independence.” It renewed its call on the international community to take “concrete steps” to protect the fundamental rights of the Sahrawi people, particularly their right to self-determination.
Moreover, the association condemned the continued closure of its headquarters in occupied El Aaiun and its prevention from operating for more than three years—a step that “reflects a systematic policy to restrict civic space and silence human rights voices, depriving victims of an independent mechanism for documentation and support, and constituting a blatant violation of freedom of association and human rights work.”
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