Banjul (Gambia) 2 May 2025 (SPS) - The Sahrawi Republic participated this Friday morning in the opening session of the 83rd session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, held in the Gambian capital, Banjul, represented by Ambassador Malainin Lakhal, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Sahrawi Republic to Ethiopia and the African Union.
The opening session was chaired by the Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, with the attendance of a representative of the Gambian government, several African human rights figures, and heads of African institutions, such as the African Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The meeting also listened to video speeches by the Chairperson of the African Commission, the President of the Pan-African Parliament, the President of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, the representative of the European Union for Human Rights, and representatives of other relevant organizations and bodies.
In his speech on the occasion, the Chairperson of the ACHPR emphasized that Africa is a sick continent suffering from tragedies due to the lack of respect for human and peoples' rights, emphasizing the importance of the theme of the year adopted by the last African Union Summit.
After the opening session, the general situation of human rights in Africa was debated. The representative of the Sahrawi Republic at this session delivered a general statement on the extent of gross human rights violations in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.
The Sahrawi ambassador's speech covered the full range of Moroccan violations, beginning with the Moroccan obstruction to the Sahrawi people's exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination, in addition to the systematic violations of the civil, political, economic, and social rights of the Sahrawi people under the yoke of Moroccan occupation.
The Sahrawi ambassador called on the Commission, as well as other relevant African Union bodies, to put an end to the shameful disregard for the situation in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.
He stressed the need to closely monitor the situation by visiting the occupied territories to complement the ACHPR’s fact-finding mission that Morocco prevented from being implemented since 2013. He also emphasized holding the occupying state accountable for the war crimes and crimes against humanity it commits daily against the Sahrawi people.
The Sahrawi representative emphasized the seriousness of the situation in the occupied territories, but also the escalation of Moroccan crimes against Sahrawi civilians since the Moroccan army violated the ceasefire agreement and the Sahrawi people's return to armed struggle. He also pointed to the deliberate killing of civilians by the Moroccan army using drones.
The 83rd open session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, which opened today, continues for ten days, during which a number of human rights topics are expected to be discussed in special sessions, seminars, and discussions. (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)
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